Qiu Ling gave a faint hum in response. He definitely couldn’t be called up-to-date on the gods’ bigger issues and this kind of family drama was absolutely beyond his knowledge. Hearing Qiang Yan and Bai Fen put things this way though, he somewhat understood what had happened. “That guard took to heart what she said?”

Qiang Yan nodded again. “Yes. At least that is what he said after being caught. He thought Bai Fen had robbed Yin Lin Lin of her position and called her an ungrateful wrench considering that it was my mentor who brought us back here after the disaster we were fleeing from and raised us for the remaining years until we came of age. He gave me many opportunities, laying the groundwork for later becoming the new God of War while my sister … well, he thought she took advantage of the situation like the cuckoo occupying the magpies’ nest.” He could only smile helplessly, not sure what else to say.

The situation back then had been chaotic. Bai Fen originally didn’t care for Rong Su at all and actually found this suitor of hers to be annoying. He himself also had some reservations because he naturally knew about the engagement. One was his sister who was uninterested and even a little disgusted with the man’s advances, the other was his mentor’s daughter who very much wanted the position at that guy’s side. For him, it seemed obvious what should be done.

It was a pity that Rong Su had never been a sensible person. He made a fuss about not liking Yin Lin Lin and continued pursuing Bai Fen restlessly. In the end, he actually managed to convince the latter that he would make a decent partner and she agreed to be with him while the former naturally couldn’t accept this result. Qiang Yan had been unhappy but also couldn’t bring himself to argue with his sister when it seemed that she was happy.

Anyway, the one with the biggest headache was likely Tianjun Cheng Dong. He was the one who had originally arranged the relationship between the children. Now, the father of one of them was gone, leaving her alone and ‘helpless’ as she liked to cry to anyone who would listen.

If he really allowed his son to break off the engagement, wouldn’t the remaining Heavenly Generals and soldiers who had served under the previous God of War think he threw people away when they had no use any longer? Wouldn’t they unite and refuse to do their duty for the sake of this little ‘princess’ of their palace?

But at the same time, the woman his son had fallen in love with was the beloved sister of the new God of War so refusing to give her a name after his son had shamelessly pursued her for so long seemed wrong as well. It would directly damage his son’s reputation … well, even further than he himself had done that, at least, and might also make him seem cold-hearted and unfeeling.

Truly, he didn’t want to see either of these outcomes and he hated that his son had put him in this situation but it couldn’t be changed. Seeing no other way, he had talked to every party individually, trying to come up with the perfect resolution. He hadn’t managed to do so as evidenced by Yin Lin Lin’s later behavior but … he had really tried hard.

To be honest, Qiang Yan had truly admired his sister’s father-in-law back then. He was somebody who cared deeply about everyone involved while still taking the overall picture into consideration. Since Rong Su and Bai Fen had finally been of the same opinion, he allowed them to get married, and he made sure that Yin Lin Lin wasn’t neglected afterward by ensuring her special status and also taking the opinions of those old generals into consideration. In a less-than-perfect situation, he made the best out of what he was given, trying to meet everyone’s hopes and expectations as much as possible.

It was a pity that Yin Lin Lin had been unruly. Feeling that she had gotten the short end of the stick and complaining about that for a while was a matter of course. But to keep going after several thousand years? It sure seemed a little excessive. Although then again, not even mentioning her personality, the main issue was likely that her prospects had always been better than anyone else’s but, in the end, she didn’t manage to make much out of it. She had no family left, no husband to shower her with care, and no position of her own. It was a bit sad when you looked at it that way.

Of course, Qiang Yan had sometimes wondered if she would have been happy with Rong Su. He knew that Bai Fen hadn’t been. Not as much as she should have been at least. Apart from those early years, the relationship couldn’t be said to have ever been that great. If not for Jing He, they probably wouldn’t be together any longer. So maybe … maybe it would have been better if everything had happened differently.

He sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead, trying not to think about it. All of it had already happened and even though he had some regrets, he couldn’t change it. He could only try his best going forward.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Qiang Yan focused on Qiu Ling again. “Anyway, Jing He made it out of that situation back then alive but he was indeed injured. From then on, I took my sister’s and later his own palace out of the rotation and checked everyone who worked with them even more rigorously.

“Finally, I made a small roster of guards that are only responsible for Jing He. You definitely know Huang Lan and Mu Kun and you should have seen a few of the others. This change did help somewhat but he still got into trouble when he went out so … in the end, he could only reduce the time he spent in the presence of others completely. I am sure you can imagine what I mean.”