It's quite rare for a servant disciple to exude such a calm demeanor.
Jiang Lingyue snapped back to reality and said with a playful smile, "Lu Ye brother-in-law, have you run out of places to live?"
Lu Ye helplessly nodded, not overly concerned with Jiang Lingyue's way of addressing him.
"Alright then, come with me. I'll help you find a place to stay."
The task of arranging accommodation was voluntarily taken on by Jiang Lingyue.
She was curious about what kind of person the Red Cloud Sect had sent over.
How come he is the least valued even among the servant disciples?
In this era, a man marrying into a woman's family was considered quite dishonorable.
Even if it was a royal princess seeking a husband.
The Prince Consort might appear to be grand in public, but privately, he couldn't escape being belittled by gossip.
Lu Ye followed behind Jiang Lingyue.
Looking at the girl ahead, he found her much more pleasing than Jiang Qingge.
The two of them twisted and turned and arrived at the most remote part of the vast Jiang Family estate.
This location usually housed Jiang Family's servants and guards.
Arranging for Lu Ye, Jiang Qingge's nominally newlywed husband, to live here was clearly intentional.
The Jiang Family also knew that since the Red Cloud Sect sent a servant posing as an inner sect disciple, it wouldn't care about the life or death of a servant disciple.
No matter how much they targeted him internally, as long as he was still Jiang Qingge's husband in name, it was fine.
Jiang Lingyue apparently understood this as well, turning her head to show a hint of apology.
"Lu Ye brother-in-law, I tried to persuade them, but they wouldn't listen to me. I'm sorry."
Lu Ye shook his head indifferently, "It's not your fault."
It was just a temporary place to stay; Lu Ye didn't mind if it was lavish or dilapidated.
What he needed was time to grow.
"Alright then, you can live here from now on. If you need anything, just let me know." Jiang Lingyue patted her chest reassuringly.
Watching Jiang Lingyue leave, Lu Ye entered the small courtyard.
The yard seemed to have been unoccupied for some time. Although there were no weeds or fallen leaves, dust could be seen everywhere.
Lu Ye chuckled.
"It's better than the thatched hut at the sect."
Opening the door, Lu Ye found the interior clean and tidy, aside from a musty smell from lack of sunlight.
This was as Lu Ye expected.
After all, with so many servants in the Jiang Family, even if it wasn't occupied, someone would occasionally come to clean it.
His encounter with a marriage devoid of personal agency once again made Lu Ye realize deeply.
The importance of personal strength in the world of martial arts.
If today, he were a Martial Arts Innate, who would dare to treat him like this?
Closing the door, Lu Ye immediately began cultivating.
He wasn't cultivating the basic cultivation technique issued to servant disciples by the Red Cloud Sect.
Instead, it was the "Ancient Star Scripture" he obtained from the Myriad Dao Pavilion.
It was precisely because of this powerful cultivation technique, combined with the acquired elixir,
that Lu Ye was able to advance to the fourth layer of Condensing Origin in just two months.
However, when this technique is fully activated, the absorption of Heaven and Earth Source Qi is much more intense than ordinary techniques.
To avoid attracting the attention of others in the Jiang Family, Lu Ye confined the absorption range within the small courtyard.
...
Elsewhere.
A group of maids stood in a row. Jiang Qing, the Jiang Family steward, approached quickly, glanced around, and casually pointed at a maid.
"Qing Yu, you will be responsible for attending to the new eldest son-in-law from now on."
Qing Yu was instantly a bit bewildered; she had become the maid of the Jiang Family's new son-in-law?
Following Jiang Qing, she walked all the way to that remote little courtyard, feeling a bit nervous.
"Steward, is it possible that we, we came to the wrong place?"
This place was the most remote Zone C of the Jiang Family's outer court, and even Qing Yu's residence was here.
The outer court Zones C and D housed all Jiang Family servants.
The new son-in-law was the husband of Miss Qingge, so how could he possibly live here?!
Jiang Qing, as the Jiang Family steward, had already learned Lu Ye's true identity through channels strategically placed by other forces within the Jiang Family.
Upon hearing this, he sighed and turned around, "The son-in-law's residence was arranged from above; we just follow orders."
Watching Jiang Qing leave, Qing Yu came back to her senses and nervously approached the courtyard gate.
"Master, I am your maid, are you there?"
She softly called out twice but got no response.
Even though the courtyard gate wasn't tightly closed, Qing Yu didn't dare to enter without permission and stood silently at the entrance.
...
On the other side, after taking Lu Ye to his residence, Jiang Lingyue thought for a moment and then went to Jiang Qingge's small courtyard.
"Sister, are you asleep?"
Inside, Jiang Qingge's voice came, "Come in, I'm not asleep."
How could she sleep?
The Jiang Family Ancestor's breakthrough failure had led to a backlash, requiring her to marry to stabilize the Jiang Family.
Initially, Jiang Qingge had resigned herself to marrying an inner sect disciple of the Red Cloud Sect, becoming an emotionless wife.
But who would have thought that her marriage would be... to the lowest-ranking servant!
Jiang Qingge had imagined not marrying at all, and she had imagined the identity and appearance of her future husband.
But never did she imagine.
That her most sacred wedding would be with a servant!
Even if he were a sect servant, it was not much different from those fetching water and chopping wood in the Jiang Family.
So, in a fit of anger, Jiang Qingge directly arranged for Lu Ye to stay in the servants' Zone C of the outer courtyard.
Jiang Lingyue walked in with light steps.
"Sister, is it... a bit inappropriate to arrange brother-in-law to such a place?"
At this, Jiang Qingge snapped coldly, "...If it weren't for his mismatched identity, I wouldn't even know him, let alone marry him."
"Giving him a place to stay already counts as fair treatment."
Jiang Lingyue: "..."
Although the fact was that one of them was the Eldest Miss Jiang, and the other was the sect's lowest-ranking servant,
under normal circumstances, the two wouldn't even cross paths, let alone marry.
But since what's done is done,
Jiang Lingyue thought there was no need to handle things too extremely.
Even if the marriage would be annulled in the future, for now, they could get along peacefully.
Moreover, even in a sect as large as the Red Cloud Sect, for a servant disciple to rapidly advance to an inner sect disciple.
Wasn't something Lu Ye could control himself.
However, knowing her sister was currently angry.
In Cloud Leaf City, her sister was known as the most beautiful woman.
Many suitors pursued her, and she had countless admirers, but she never paid attention to any of them.
Now, she married someone like a servant; given her personality, she could not accept it in a short time.
Jiang Lingyue sighed inwardly and said nothing more.
...
Early the next morning.
Within the small courtyard, Lu Ye was immersed in cultivation.
The Ancient Star Scripture's speed of refining Source Qi was extremely fast, and in just two hours of meditation, he could noticeably feel an increase in the Source Qi within his Dantian.
Exiting the cultivation state, Lu Ye then sensed that there seemed to be the presence of a stranger outside the courtyard.
Curious, Lu Ye walked out of the small courtyard.
He immediately saw at the corner of the courtyard gate, a thin figure in green clothes, seemingly drowsy.