Anyone who knew about the Qiankun Poison Pouch and the Flowing Light Dagger must surely be dying to ask about it!

Though Ziqing disliked Old Meng Five’s suffocating, commanding manner, she could understand the urgency felt by a member of the Meng Clan.

Now that introductions had been made and identities acknowledged, it would have been entirely reasonable for the Meng Clan Leader to immediately ask to see the Qiankun Poison Pouch. And yet, he still hadn’t.

Could there possibly be something more important than this?

The Meng Clan Leader waved a hand, signaling the attendants to bring the bound Old Meng Two and Old Meng Three to the center of the hall.

At this, everyone understood what the Meng Clan Leader intended to do.

Beyond gratitude, Ziqing felt something closer to admiration—and even Jun Beiyue, who rarely gave his respect easily, cast an approving glance.

The Meng Clan Leader was truly worthy of his position as head of the clan—such composure, such bearing. How many people, in a great clan like this, could manage the same?

For these two elders, no punishment could be worse than one dealt by the Meng Clan itself. Esteemed elders of high standing, now dragged before everyone in such disgrace, gawked at by fellow elders and juniors alike.

Whatever else happened, this humiliation alone would follow them for the rest of their lives—they would never be able to hold their heads up in the Meng Clan again.

No one knew how many lessons Old Meng Two and Old Meng Three had already received. Though there were no marks of torture on their bodies, both had long since lost the will to argue in their own defense, their heads bowed as low as they could go, wishing they could disappear into the floor.

“These two, disrespectful to their elders, unkind to their juniors, harboring treacherous intentions, conspiring against their own kin—effective immediately, their positions as elders are stripped. They are demoted to the Hall of Discipline, to copy out the clan’s rules daily. For no less than five years, they shall not set foot beyond the Hall of Discipline!”

The entire hall fell silent. The Meng Clan Leader’s voice rang out like a great bell, each word striking home in the hearts of the clan members. This was not merely punishment for the two elders—it was a warning to anyone else in the clan harboring treacherous intentions.

Who would dare voice any objection to the Meng Clan Leader’s decision? The hall remained silent. The slower-witted saw only the warning being made of an example. But the sharper ones immediately caught the scent of change coming to the Meng Clan.

The Meng Clan Leader had always kept the power of the various elders in careful balance. Now, having uprooted and dealt with the Second and Third Elders so thoroughly, it meant that the long-standing balance of power within the Meng Clan was about to be broken!

Once that balance broke, a new contender for clan leadership was bound to rise. And that force could only be Meng Wanyue, brought back through Jun Beiyue and Ziqing!

The Grand Elder, of course, saw all of this clearly. And yet, he showed no anxiety at all—sipping his tea calmly, more at ease than he had ever been, wearing an expression of quiet confidence. Where did such confidence come from?

The moment the Meng Clan Leader gave the order, the people of the Hall of Discipline moved at once to carry it out, taking Old Meng Two and Old Meng Three away. Before they left, both men, without meaning to, raised their heads to look at Jun Beiyue and Ziqing. What else could they do but hate them?

Hate?

Too many people in this world hated them already—if they tried to remember every one, would they have time for anything else?

Jun Beiyue had long since stopped caring about them and didn’t even spare them a glance. Ziqing, meanwhile, wore an expression of magnanimous forgiveness and returned their glares with a faint smile, nearly driving the two old men to apoplexy.

Identities confirmed, wrongdoers punished—next should come the true focus of the family council.

But before the Meng Clan Leader could even speak, Ziqing took the initiative and had Xiong Bao bring out the Qiankun Poison Pouch himself.

This item would have to come out sooner or later. It was just that the more others pressed her for it, the less willing she became. But if no one pressed her, she had no intention of hiding it away, nor was she afraid of anyone trying to seize it.

Ziqing held up the Qiankun Poison Pouch, dangling from her finger. At once, every gaze in the hall fixed on it like nails. Even the Meng Clan Leader’s eyes lit up, unable to hide his excitement and delight.

The treasure looked very much like a golden thread purse, no bigger than a palm, yet surrounded by shimmering, five-colored radiance, beautiful beyond words, as if it possessed a will of its own—inexplicably endearing.

Small as it looked, the characters “Qiankun”—Heaven and Earth—guaranteed it could never truly be small.

Consider how many poison beasts and poisonous herbs the World of Poisonous Beasts could hold, and one could grasp just how much this pouch could contain.

Ziqing respectfully presented the Qiankun Poison Pouch to the Meng Clan Leader with both hands. “Clan Leader, the Meng Clan’s Flowing Light Dagger is inside the Qiankun Poison Pouch. The Fourth Elder is sealed within the Flowing Light. I beg the Clan Leader to open the Qiankun Poison Pouch and rescue the Fourth Elder!”

The Fourth Elder?

Yes, for now, this was the only way Ziqing could refer to her. And she rather liked this form of address. As for the birth mother she had never met, Jun Beiyue could perhaps call her “Mother” or “Consort Mother”—but forgive her, she could not yet bring herself to say “Mother-in-law,” much less “Mother.”

That form of address only began once a daughter-in-law had formally entered the family, at the tea ceremony. She and Jun Beiyue had always had a marriage bestowed by imperial decree, without a formal wedding ceremony.

No matter how thick her skin, no matter how little she cared about formalities with Jun Beiyue, she couldn’t very well start calling someone “Mother-in-law” or “Mother” before she had even formally entered the family, before the tea ceremony, before receiving Meng Wanyue’s blessing.

Besides, the word “Mother” carried too much weight for her.

Fourth Elder. That would do just fine.

Old Meng Five had originally been quite pleased to see Ziqing bring out the Qiankun Poison Pouch on her own initiative. But upon hearing her call Meng Wanyue “Fourth Elder,” he couldn’t help muttering, “The Clan Leader has already acknowledged you—yet you still call her Fourth Elder? Is Fourth Sister not even worthy of being your mother-in-law? Plenty of people would jump at the chance!”

“Father! It’s the Clan Leader who acknowledged her—not Fourth Aunt! That’s different, isn’t it?” Meng Duo’er couldn’t help speaking up in Ziqing’s defense. Her father was, on the whole, a decent man, but the moment Fourth Aunt was involved, he became fiercely, unconditionally protective of her.

“A child wouldn’t understand—don’t speak out of turn!” Old Meng Five scolded, displeased. Meng Duo’er could only cast a sympathetic glance at Ziqing, privately wondering what sort of woman this Fourth Aunt she’d never met might turn out to be.

Ziqing held the Qiankun Poison Pouch in both hands, and the Meng Clan Leader watched, visibly moved—so much so that he nearly forgot to take it.

The Flowing Light Dagger—the treasure of the Meng Clan. Meng Wanyue—his own treasure!

Lost for so many years, and today, at last, both were returning, right before his eyes!

The Meng Clan Leader’s clear, bright eyes suddenly clouded over. Ziqing, standing closest to him, saw it plainly, her heart giving an involuntary pang. She quickly said, “Clan Leader, it is Xiong Bao who holds the contract with the Qiankun Poison Pouch. Everything is now in your hands.”

Only then did the Meng Clan Leader come back to himself. He nodded at Ziqing and, with both hands, received the Qiankun Poison Pouch.

“Everyone—the Flowing Light Dagger is our Meng Clan’s greatest treasure, stolen many years ago and now recovered by the Fourth Elder. This is truly a blessing upon our clan. The Fourth Elder’s merit and fault cancel each other out. Her transgression of fleeing her marriage and leaving the island shall not be pursued further!” the Meng Clan Leader declared solemnly.

In truth, the real reason Meng Wanyue had left home all those years ago was that she had stolen the Flowing Light Dagger, using her dissatisfaction with the arranged marriage merely as a pretext. Within just a few days of her departure, the theft of the dagger had been discovered.

Ziqing and Jun Beiyue had a vague inkling of the truth, but the one who truly understood the full story was Old Meng Five.

Hearing the Meng Clan Leader’s obvious attempt to shield his daughter, Ziqing found it all too transparent. And yet, in a family like this, ability always came first—if Old Meng Two and Old Meng Three had possessed even a fraction of Meng Wanyue’s talent, perhaps they wouldn’t have ended up in their current state.

But then, unexpectedly, the Grand Elder of the Meng Clan rose to his feet. “Clan Leader—the truth… is not quite as you say!”