On the other side—
Gong Yi had already brought Lu Lingyi before a man in a dark robe and bowed respectfully. "Young Master Wang, this is Miss Lu Lingyi, the one I mentioned earlier. She holds great admiration for you."
Lu Lingyi felt a wave of disdain in her heart. Gong Yi made it sound so flattering, claiming to be Wang Taiyuan's good friend.
But judging by what she saw now, Gong Yi wasn't a friend at all—he was merely a subordinate, and not even a qualified one.
Wang Taiyuan turned his gaze toward Lu Lingyi.
He had actually noticed her long before this moment. Otherwise, he would never have agreed to let Gong Yi bring her to him.
In his eyes, Gong Yi was nothing more than a minor character.
"Lu Lingyi greets Young Master Wang," she said with a bow.
"Where is Miss Lu from?" Wang Taiyuan asked gently.
His tone was polite, which made Gong Yi secretly rejoice.
He desired Lu Lingyi himself, but if he could use her to earn Wang Taiyuan's favor, he was more than willing to make that trade.
After all, women were plentiful—but chances to build ties with someone like Wang Taiyuan were incredibly rare.
"I'm from Wancheng in the Southern Domain, currently studying at the Myriad Phenomena Dao Academy," Lu Lingyi replied.
"Not bad," Wang Taiyuan said approvingly.
Hearing she was a disciple of the Myriad Phenomena Dao Academy only improved his impression.
At least such people had a clean background.
Seeing Wang Taiyuan's pleasant attitude, the other prominent figures around him all smiled and began greeting Lu Lingyi as well.
For a moment, she truly felt as though she was being welcomed into the upper echelons of society.
But just then, Wang Taiyuan said, "Lingyi, I have a few matters to discuss with my brothers. You go enjoy yourself for now. I'll find you again tonight."
As soon as those words fell, the other influential men around him exchanged ambiguous smiles.
It was obvious—Young Master Wang had taken an interest in the girl.
Lu Lingyi's heart sank, a chill running through her veins. It felt as if she'd fallen straight from heaven into hell.
She wasn't a naïve woman.
Wang Bingrou was standing right there beside Wang Taiyuan, yet he didn't tell her to leave—he only dismissed Lu Lingyi.
That alone showed he didn't think she was qualified to stay and discuss "important matters."
And the words that followed carried a meaning she couldn't possibly mistake.
In an instant, she understood—Wang Taiyuan saw her as nothing more than a plaything.
Her face flushed bright red—not from shyness, but from humiliation and anger.
But under the watchful eyes of Wang Taiyuan and the other dignitaries, she didn't dare to lash out.
She could only glance desperately at Gong Yi, the same man she had once looked down upon, hoping he might say something to help her.
Yet Gong Yi pretended not to see her pleading eyes, smiling obsequiously at Wang Taiyuan instead.
That was when Lu Lingyi finally understood—she could rely on no one but herself.
She quickly steadied her tone and said, "Young Master Wang, I'm truly sorry, but I already have an appointment with my Dao companion tonight."
Back at the Myriad Phenomena Dao Academy, she'd had an ambiguous relationship with a young nobleman.
They weren't truly Dao companions, but now, she could only borrow that man's name as a shield.
"Your Dao companion?" Wang Taiyuan frowned. "Who might that be? Perhaps I know him."
Lu Lingyi said calmly, "My Dao companion is Yue Zheng of the Yue family in the Southern Domain."
"Yue Zheng?"
Wang Taiyuan laughed, then casually gestured toward a nearby crowd. "Yue Zheng! I didn't know you already had a Dao companion. Planning to hide her away and not tell us?"
Lu Lingyi's face instantly changed color.
A moment later, a handsome young man with fair skin stepped forward from among the crowd.
It was none other than Yue Zheng—the very man Lu Lingyi had been stringing along.
"Lu Lingyi?" Yue Zheng looked slightly surprised, then turned toward Wang Taiyuan. "Young Master Wang, I was indeed interested in her before. I thought I might have some fun, but I never got the chance.
"If you've taken a liking to her, I have no objections. To be fair, she's always kept herself rather clean—not the kind to throw herself around. You've got a good eye, Young Master Wang."
Lu Lingyi felt as though lightning had struck her straight through. Her beautiful face went pale as paper.
In that moment, it was as if every layer of clothing had been stripped from her before them all.
Moments ago, she'd tried to use Yue Zheng's name to save herself, claiming he was her Dao companion.
But in the blink of an eye, Yue Zheng had not only denied it publicly, he'd reduced her to nothing more than a passing amusement.
She had thought herself clever, thought she could manipulate others with charm and poise—yet she had never realized Yue Zheng had never even seen her as an equal.
To him, she had always been just another toy.
When Yue Zheng met someone stronger, he could easily hand her over without a second thought.
Beside them, Wang Bingrou looked at Lu Lingyi with a faint, mocking smile. Her eyes seemed to say, "I saw right through you long ago. You're just the kind of woman who loves to cling to power."
"Is that so?"
Wang Taiyuan's interest in Lu Lingyi deepened. "If it were anyone else, you'd already have lost the right to approach me after lying like that. But since you've kept yourself relatively clean, I'll give you another chance."
"Haha, Miss Lu, to have Young Master Wang treat you so leniently—it's truly your fortune. You should cherish it well."
"That's right. Do you know how many women would kill for a chance to share Young Master Wang's bed? You really must have earned eight lifetimes of good karma."
The young nobles around him all joined in mockery.
Lu Lingyi staggered back a few steps, her face pale. Everyone before her looked like a pack of hungry wolves, ready to tear her apart.
Just then, Wang Bingrou spoke up. "Young Master Wang, I'm afraid you won't have time tonight."
"Hm?"
Wang Taiyuan's face darkened instantly.
Lately, he'd been treating Wang Bingrou quite well. Otherwise, with her limited Zither Dao talent, she'd never have been able to rival Chu Xianyin in fame.
But that didn't mean she could challenge his authority.
In his eyes, Wang Bingrou was still just a higher-grade plaything.
"You forget," Wang Bingrou said calmly, "that Grand Zither Master Chu is also here tonight. You wouldn't want to leave a bad impression on her, would you?"
Wang Taiyuan froze, then seemed to realize something. His expression eased slightly. "Fair point. Where is Grand Zither Master Chu?"
Following the direction of everyone's gaze, he spotted Chu Xianyin in the crowd.
She was speaking with a few strangers, her attitude strikingly different from how she treated others—warm, cheerful, her smile radiant enough to dazzle everyone around her.
Especially toward one of the young men, she looked almost shy, as if she wanted to speak but hesitated, her expression soft and bashful.
It made several people stare in disbelief.
"Who are those people?"
Wang Taiyuan's expression darkened further.
To him, Chu Xianyin's allure far surpassed Wang Bingrou's.
Outwardly, the two women's beauty was comparable. But Wang Bingrou's appearance had been refined through blood and qi arts—enhanced, artificial.
Chu Xianyin, however, was entirely natural.
And beyond looks, Chu Xianyin's Zither Dao mastery was real—her talent undeniable, her skill unmatched.
Wang Bingrou's fame, by contrast, had been built largely through his own influence and praise from others. Her actual ability couldn't compare.
To put it bluntly, Wang Bingrou was merely a stand-in—a substitute for Chu Xianyin, the woman he couldn't obtain.
But no matter how much he tried, Chu Xianyin had always kept her distance.
Until now, he'd thought it was just her personality—reserved, indifferent.
But seeing her now, laughing softly and blushing in front of another man, Wang Taiyuan finally understood.
That was never her temperament—it was her way of rejecting him.
In that instant, fury surged up inside him, burning through his chest like a storm he could barely contain.