Novel Full Chapter 996: Family Pressures!
Chapter 996: Family Pressures!
Lan Family Manor, casting long shadows across the white courtyard stones. The scent of spirit herbs wafted from the back gardens where the evening dew began to form on the emerald leaves.
Manuka Lan, dressed in her herbalist robes now dusted with market ash and pollen, stepped through the wooden gate of the manor, exhausted yet oddly restless. She had just returned from the city market—where she spent half the day walking beside Phillip Salt, listening to his teasing words, his maddening confidence, and that ever-so-irritating smirk that lingered on her mind.
Her footsteps slowed the moment she passed the courtyard. A chill wind cut through her bones—not from the air, but from the atmosphere inside the main hall, where her entire family stood waiting.
She saw her father, Lan Heiyan, the master of the Lan Herb Pavilion, seated on the central chair with his long, snow-white beard draped over his lap. His eyes were not cruel, but they were heavy with patriarchal judgment. Around him stood her elder brothers, aunties, and clan elders, all wearing expressions that ranged from concern to disdain.
“You’re late,” her eldest brother, Lan Guo, said stiffly.
“I was attending market duties,” Manuka replied, stepping forward with folded hands.
“With Phillip Salt?” her father asked slowly, his voice calm but sharp like a blade behind silk.
Manuka did not flinch. “Yes.”
That one word struck the air like thunder.
“Manuka!” her aunt snapped, stepping forward. “Do you not know who he is? He’s already promised to Lily White! The White family will not let this go if they hear our daughter spent the day alone with him!”
“And you think we can afford conflict with the White Clan?” added her younger uncle, a sharp-eyed alchemist.
“I was not alone,” Manuka said, lifting her chin. “There were dozens in the market. We were speaking of herbs. Of pills. That’s my job.”
“This is not about herbs!” her father finally spoke louder, rising from his seat. “It is about your reputation, your future as the heir to the Lan Garden!”
“I am not interested in a future where I must bow to the Whites,” Manuka replied calmly. Her words were soft, but they carried defiance.
Gasps echoed.
Her second brother, Lan Wu, stepped forward. “Manuka, listen to yourself. That man—Phillip—he may speak like a gentleman, but his bloodline is cursed. His rise from the dead is unnatural, and some say… that he carries Karmic shadows!”
Manuka narrowed her eyes. “You speak like the court whisperers. Rumors and shadows.”
“He’s a tool,” her aunt hissed. “A pawn between two powerful clans. Don’t become his toy, Manuka.”
The words struck something deep inside her—not pain, but wrath.
All her life, she had lived for the garden. She had bled for it, mastered poisons, detoxified fatal herbs, worked without rest while the men of the house attended banquets and lectures. She had never been anyone’s tool. She had never disobeyed.
But today, she felt the deepest urge to rebel.
“Enough,” she said coldly. “I will meet Phillip Salt again tomorrow. And I don’t need your permission.”
“Manuka!” her father barked.
“No. This time, I’m not bending.”
“You are still our daughter!” her brother shouted.
“Then remember that I am Lan Manuka, not a chained dog of your alliances,” she said, her voice like frost.
She turned on her heels and stormed out, the hem of her robes trailing behind like a comet of rage.
That Night
The moon hung silver in the sky.
Manuka stood atop her balcony, looking over the herb gardens where moon-bloom orchids shimmered. But her heart was not calm.
She remembered Phillip’s voice in the market. His confident way of asking, “Visit me at Salt family manor. I have a surprise for you.”
He had not flirted. He had not begged.
He had simply asked.
And she had said nothing at the time.
But now—after tonight’s attack from her family—she knew the answer.
–
Next Day…
Morning sunlight bathed the Salt Manor in a warm glow, with birds chirping and lazy servants dragging their feet through the corridors. The mansion was calm, peaceful—until a clamor erupted at the gate.
“Who is it?!” barked the older gatekeeper, rubbing his eyes from his morning nap.
“She says she’s from the Lan family… wants to meet Young Master Phillip,” said the younger guard, already pale.
“Lan family?! Did you say Lan?” The older guard nearly dropped his spear. “Which Lan?”
The young guard gulped. “Manuka Lan.”
At once, the older guard straightened his robe, adjusted his cap, and nearly tripped over his own sandals as he sprinted toward the main house. “Go wake the young master! Now!”
Meanwhile, Manuka Lan sat with poise on the outer hall’s carved sandalwood bench. Dressed in deep emerald robes, her herbalist belt tucked neatly, she surveyed the garden with calm detachment—as if it were beneath her, but mildly amusing.
A few servants peeked around corners.
“Is that really her?”
“Did she get lost?”
“Maybe she mistook our manor for the physician’s house!”
“You fool, she came here on purpose!”
Inside, chaos had erupted in Phillip’s wing.
“Brother! Brother! Wake up! A disaster—I mean, a guest has arrived!”
“Ugh… go away,” mumbled Phillip, tossing over his blankets. “If it’s Lily again, tell her I’m dead.”
“It’s worse! It’s… it’s Manuka Lan!”
That jolted Phillip upright. “WHAT?!”
He practically leaped from his bed, one slipper on, hair wildly untamed. As he fumbled to put on his robe, his cousin burst in.
“She’s sitting in the outer hall! With crossed legs! Looking like she owns the place!”
“Why didn’t you serve her tea?!” Phillip shouted.
“We were too afraid!”
Phillip rushed down the corridor with the grace of a startled goose, servants parting like tides.
In the hall, Manuka was calmly sipping the tea she had brewed herself from his garden. Phillip skidded to a halt before her, panting.
“Lady Lan… I didn’t expect such an early visit.”
She looked up. “You didn’t? Then don’t say you expected me yesterday.”
“Touché,” Phillip muttered.
“You said you would show me your garden,” she continued, unfazed. “I came to see if you’re all talk.”
Phillip scratched his head. “That… was rhetorical.”
“Not to me,” she said, placing the teacup down.
His brother whispered from behind a pillar, “She’s terrifying.”
“She’s elegant,” his cousin whispered back. “Like a sword wrapped in silk.”
“Or poison wrapped in candy,” another muttered.
Phillip cleared his throat. “Well then, my lady, if you wish to inspect my garden, allow me the honor of escorting you.”
“You still have pillow creases on your face,” she replied flatly.
Phillip laughed, then bowed. “Forgive the barbarism of Salt Manor. We weren’t expecting royalty.”
“Oh, I’m not royalty,” she said coolly. “But if I were, this place could use better drapes.”
Behind her, three maids fainted from the sheer pressure of her presence.
As they strolled into the garden, Phillip offered explanations for each rare plant, his usual cheeky flair tempered by genuine knowledge. Manuka listened, occasionally testing him with sudden questions.
“Why does this herb wilt under sunlight?”
“Because its root contains a noctilucent compound that reacts poorly to solar heat.”
“Hm,” she nodded.
“And this one?”
“You’re supposed to tell me, my lady.”
They continued bantering as confused relatives watched from balconies.
“He’s flirting with her!”
“Is she… smiling?! Did anyone see that?!”
Back in the courtyard, as they returned, Phillip turned and asked, “So what did your family say about your visit?”
“That I was mad to come.”
“And yet here you are.”
“Madness sometimes cures boredom.”
Phillip grinned. “Well then, my lady. What should we do?”
–
Tq!