The Challenge of a Farmhouse Son-in-Law
Chapter 529 - 539: We’re Grasshoppers on the Same Rope

Chapter 529: Chapter 539: We’re Grasshoppers on the Same Rope

"I feel deeply ashamed!" he said again, "A man of such stature, yet unable to fully protect the woman he loves, always having you follow me and live in constant fear."

"It’s the pressure of the situation, and I don’t blame you. My only fear is that instead of being able to help you, I might hold you back."

This was the difference in their philosophies. Gu Youyou had always faced difficulties alone. When had she ever needed someone to protect her?

Even if she was scheming to have someone protect her, it was always within her control, merely a tactic for her.

"Good!" Jin Zijin chuckled, whispering softly, "You really do scare me."

He recalled what Xiao Jinyan had said about the affairs of the Jie Family’s young master’s inner house. Naturally, the matters of the inner house were best handled by the women within. He said, "When you have time, try to find out more about Zuo Zongzheng’s second son’s inner house."

"The inner house of Zuo Zongzheng’s second son?" Gu Youyou was startled.

"Yes," Jin Zijin said, "Zuo Zongzheng, Mr. Jie, holds a significant position in the Imperial Court. There might be times when we need him."

Gu Youyou was clever and understood Jin Zijin’s implication without further explanation.

Yet she couldn’t comprehend. Wasn’t Jin Zijin aiming to fight for the position of the State Preceptor? Shouldn’t he be scheming against those old men of the Sanqing Temple instead?

"So the State Preceptor... has already extended his reach into the Imperial Court?"

"Not exactly," Jin Zijin smiled faintly, gently stroking her soft hair, and said, "I’m afraid you’ll grow impatient..." As he spoke, he quickly corrected himself, "It’s I who am impatient and not planning to take that path." Although that way was safer, it would mean waiting, and she was right, they could not wait that long.

The Dao Family’s cultivation method emphasized calmness and composure; the master always mentioned the virtue of patience. This had been the unspoken rule between Xuanzong and Tianzong for years: if one faction became the State Preceptor, gaining the initiative, they must not rashly attack the other, and the other faction must not revolt or usurp the throne during the State Preceptor’s tenure, and were obliged to wait until the State Preceptor was on his deathbed, to compete for the role in a just and honorable manner.

But waiting for years would age them. He was better off; with years of cultivating himself, he was more likely to live for a century, and he aged slower. But her, a woman, could not wait that long, for beauty fades quickly.

Gu Youyou listened but did not quite understand his intention.

Not planning to take which path?

"Then what other path do you have?" Or to put it another way, what exactly does he want to do?

In the past, she had assumed that with the struggle between Tianzong and Xuanzong, Jin Zijin, as Tianzong’s senior disciple, would strive to win a way out for his sect and junior disciples, and a chance for survival for her by competing for the coveted role of State Preceptor.

But now, she realized that it wasn’t the case. That was not his goal.

"I...?" Jin Zijin’s eyes, deep as ink, glinted in the darkness, while moonlight streamed through the window, casting the last unmelted snow of early spring into a cold and dazzling brilliance.

The best thing about this world was its clean air, the stars that shone brightly, and the moon that was big, round, and brilliant.

Gu Youyou stretched out her hand and smoothed the furrowed brows on his forehead.

He wasn’t very good at comforting others, and neither was she. If it were fitting for the occasion, one would say something about how spouses should share weal and woe.

But in her mouth, those words took on a different flavor, yet they seemed all the more sincere.

She smiled faintly and said, "We’re both grasshoppers on the same string; you can’t escape me, and I can’t escape you. Whether you jump first or I jump first, or we jump together, the way we jump has to be discussed, right? If one of us doesn’t jump well, wouldn’t that be the end of everything?"

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