40: Cultivating together will make progress faster, madam.

On the other side, Lu An'an returned to the Medicinal Pill shop and went to change her clothes first.

Just as she unfastened her clothes, a letter fell out.

She picked it up with a face full of confusion, and upon opening it, her face immediately turned red.

"This... it's actually a love letter."

Especially when she saw that the signature was Feng Ming, her mind went blank with a boom.

"Feng Ming actually wrote me a love letter? He... he..."

Lu An'an became incoherent.

"How could he do this? He's already married to Jiang Shuwan, and yet he still wrote a love letter to me. Isn't he afraid of making Sister Shuwan sad?"

Lu An'an muttered in a low voice, yet her eyes unconsciously drifted toward the love letter.

Her heart was racing like a panicked little deer.

The corners of her mouth curled up without her realizing it.

But, wait... Lu An'an tapped her head in frustration.

"Pah, pah, pah! What am I thinking? Feng Ming is already married, so why am I so happy?"

Although she said that, her eyes couldn't help but steal a few more glances at the contents of the letter.

"Could it be that I'm really moved by him?"

"But that's not right either. Even if I'm moved, it won't do. He's a married man now."

As Lu An'an admonished herself, she continued to look at the writing on the love letter.

The more she looked, the more she felt something was off.

"Wait, isn't this handwriting a bit too delicate?"

Realizing something was wrong, Lu An'an immediately took a piece of paper out of a drawer. This was the deed of sale she had signed with Feng Ming previously, made in duplicate.

Feng Ming had one copy, and she had the other.

The deed of sale had Feng Ming's signature on it.

After opening it, Lu An'an placed the two papers together for comparison.

With this comparison, Lu An'an was stunned.

The handwriting on the love letter was not Feng Ming's at all.

The signature at the bottom was completely different.

Lu An'an thought for a moment, searched the drawer again, took out another piece of paper, and compared the handwriting.

Linglong Pavilion was currently being managed by Jiang Shuwan, and Lu An'an had Medicine delivery lists signed by Jiang Shuwan every time.

She felt completely disoriented.

"What is going on? Sister Shuwan actually imitated Feng Ming's tone to write me a love letter?"

After a series of comparisons, the conclusion she reached was somewhat hard to accept.

Lu An'an recalled that when she met Feng Ming today, the two of them had stayed quite far apart.

On the contrary, Jiang Shuwan had been very intimate with her.

The love letter was likely slipped to her at that time.

But that wasn't the point.

The point was that Lu An'an simply couldn't understand what this couple was trying to do.

"Could it be that Sister Shuwan wants to help play matchmaker for the two of us? But doesn't she mind Feng Ming having someone else?"

"This breadth of spirit is simply too vast."

Lu An'an couldn't figure it out. She wanted to put the letter away, but... it was a love letter. Could she really keep it?

...The speed at which news spread was far faster than imagined.

In just a few hours' time.

The entire Liumian Prefecture, and even the surrounding areas, had already learned about today's somewhat absurd and comical battle.

At the Feng Family.

Feng Muqing returned home first and reported the news to the old master, Feng Xiaotian.

Upon learning that his grandson and granddaughter-in-law both possessed such formidable strength,

Feng Xiaotian felt deeply comforted.

Not only did he personally praise Feng Ming, but he also sent many Spirit Stones and Medicinal Pills.

The entire Feng Residence was filled with joy, feeling a sense of having finally vindicated themselves.

In contrast, at the Huangfu Family.

The atmosphere was dejected.

Huangfu Yi had not only suffered a crushing defeat but had also had his Dantian destroyed by someone.

When Huangfu Xuan received the news, he was so angry he almost spat blood.

Huangfu Yi knelt on the ground to admit his mistake. "Father, I was wrong. I was careless this time; I didn't expect Jiang Shuwan's strength to be so great."

"Don't worry, Father. I will definitely find a way to Cultivate again and wipe away this humiliation."

Huangfu Yi understood perfectly that once he lost the qualification to Cultivate, he would become a complete waste and a Discarded pawn within the Huangfu Family.

That was why he made desperate guarantees.

As a Disciple of a large Family, he understood the importance of strength all too well.

Precisely because of this, his hatred for Feng Ming had reached its peak.

To the side, Huangfu Yunyan also kept helping to plead for him.

"Father, Brother also didn't expect the opponent to suddenly attack his Dantian. Although losing the Dantian is a great loss, there is still hope for Brother. As long as we find a way to restore the Dantian, he can definitely train his way back."

Huangfu Xuan's eyes were bloodshot. Listening to the siblings' excuses, he showed no reaction at all.

Clearly, he could not accept this news for the time being.

Huangfu Yunyan was also filled with regret.

Had she known today's outcome, she would never have brought her brother to find Feng Ming and make that bet.

After a long while, Huangfu Xuan finally looked at the two of them and spoke.

"You two are still too naive. There are indeed Medicinal Pills in this world that can repair a Dantian, but they are extremely precious. We are merely a branch of the Huangfu Family and simply do not have the qualification to obtain such a pill."

"Furthermore, with Yi'er's defeat today, the Huangfu Family's face has been dragged through the mud. If I can no longer seize the Medicinal Pill market in Liumian Prefecture, I'm afraid we will all be abandoned by the Main Family Branch."

"You two leave first. I want to be alone."

Huangfu Xuan sighed and waved his hand, clearly not wanting to say anything more.

Large Families have their own rules.

You can enjoy the shade under the great tree of a large Family, but at the same time, you must be useful to the Family!

Otherwise, you will be reduced to a Discarded pawn.

This point was true for any Family.

Even the Jiang Family, the Lord of Liangzhou, was the same.

Once one became a Discarded pawn, they would be thrown away after serving their final purpose.

Wasn't Jiang Shuwan exactly like that?

A Young Miss of a large Family, yet she was sent to a remote backwater for a political marriage.

Wasn't that a tragedy?

It was only by a quirk of fate that she married Feng Ming.

But what if it had been someone else?

What kind of miserable end would she have had!

..."Achoo!"

At the Feng Family.

Inside Feng Ming's Qingfeng Courtyard.

Feng Ming sneezed several times in a row.

"Husband, what's wrong? Could it be that you caught a cold from accompanying me while I was Undergoing Tribulation last night?"

Feng Ming shook his head. "No, my nose is just a bit itchy."

"It's fine, it doesn't matter. Let's continue."

Feng Ming held Jiang Shuwan as they continued their activities.

Jiang Shuwan's face was bashful.

"Husband, you really are something. It's broad daylight; this isn't good."

Feng Ming raised an eyebrow. "See, you said it yourself—it's broad daylight. It's perfectly normal."

"I accompanied you through your tribulation last night; just consider this my reward."

Jiang Shuwan's face grew even more flushed.

"Husband, you're far too smooth-tongued."

Feng Ming didn't think much of it. "Speaking of which, I'm doing this for your own good. I'm helping you consolidate your Realm."

"When you Cultivate with me, the speed is even faster than boring solo Cultivation. It's two birds with one stone, isn't it great?"

Jiang Shuwan indeed did not refute this.

"It really is strange. Why is it that every time I'm intimate with you, Husband, my strength always manages to Breakthrough unexpectedly?"

Feng Ming laughed.

"Well, maybe we were made for each other. Being together allows us to complement each other's energy."

Of course, this was just Feng Ming talking nonsense to tease Jiang Shuwan.

But Jiang Shuwan didn't know that. Being quite innocent, she took it seriously and nodded with great solemnity.

Leaning in Feng Ming's arms, her face was radiant with happiness.