Chapter Text
Chapter 261 – Raising A Son In The Cultivation World (part 13)
Yuan Ru stayed above Su's house for about half an hour before disappearing. She knew that it was too much.
But Su Wanrong was a little dissatisfied, didn't she say she would be there for an hour? How did it pass so quickly? But it didn't matter. The ignorant people have learned of this incident today. The Su family was under the protection of the immortals. The ancestors of the Su family really did have immortals, so the techniques were naturally taught by the ancestors of the immortals. As for the Su family, the reason why no one had achieved anything for so many years was because they lacked aptitude.
After a few days, she would find Ru'er again and ask Ru'er to find a suitable technique for Yuan Ye. After Yuan Ye was successful, she could claim credit from the Su family's technique. At that time, the reputation of the Su family was bound to rise to a higher level and she would also benefit a lot.
After all, there were so many children in the Su family, and the only one who really stood out was her son. Wasn't that what she was blessed with?
Su Wanrong saw the scene where she was admired and respected not long after, and smiled meaningfully.
Because of this incident, Su Wanrong's status in the Su family had also increased a lot, and the compliments from her uncles and sisters made Su Wanrong a little overwhelmed. She drank a few more glasses.
After returning from Su family's house, Su Wanrong was a little sullen. After telling the people around her to go to Lofty Purple Hall to send word of her return, she went back to her room to rest.
She lay down exhausted, but suddenly opened her eyes. No! There were traces of someone touching the bed. She wanted to get up and take a closer look, but she was very tired. She thought that maybe it was because the maids cleaned up the bed after she left today.
Thinking of this, Su Wanrong felt at ease again. Her exhaustion struck, she couldn't stay awake any longer. She finally fell into a deep sleep.
It was night. Yuan Dao was alone in the study.
In front of Yuan Dao was an incense burner with three sticks of incense in it. There was also a sharp dagger.
Yuan Dao hesitated since it was blood from his heart. If there was a mistake and his hands shook, it would be fatal.
So, Yuan Dao was hesitating. He didn't know if he should light this incense stick.
But after thinking about it, Yuan Dao still lit the incense. He pulled open the front of his clothes and picked up the dagger. If a woman could do it, then he should have the guts to do it too.
Yuan Dao closed his eyes and his hands were trembling, but he still couldn't help himself.
Seeing that the incense was about to burn out, Yuan Dao gritted his teeth and stabbed gently! Yuan Dao finally understood what kind of pain this was. That Su Wanrong was able to pierce her heart several times to get blood. How cold and heartless was this woman?!
Seeing that the dagger was stained with blood, Yuan Dao quickly pulled out the dagger and dripped the blood on the incense. Then, he excitedly waited for Yuan Ru to appear.
But until the incense burnt out, the person who Yuan Dao was expecting never showed up.
Yuan Dao looked at everything in front of him in disbelief. He thought it was because of the incense, so he quickly picked up another three sticks of incense, lit it, and squeezed the wound, squeezing out a drop of blood and dripping it on the incense.
It was still useless!
Impossible! This was impossible!
Yuan Dao seemed to be insane. He lit all the remaining incense, and then dripped blood on them. It still did not work!
Seeing that the only three sticks of incense were about to burn out, Yuan Dao suddenly calmed down. This incense was handed down by the ancestors of the Su family, and probably only the blood of the descendants of the Su family would be useful.
Yuan Dao thought of this and quickly extinguished the remaining incense. Would the Su family's descendants go to find Su Wanrong? No, he couldn't let her know.
Yuan Lan and Yuan Ye were descendants of the Su family! Their heart's blood must have worked.
Yuan Dao endured the pain in his heart and quickly applied medicine to the wound. Some white medicine was sprinkled on the wound as if it were worthless. Then, he wrapped it up neatly.
Finally, I cherished the remaining incense and put it away.
At this moment, Yuan Dao regretted it again. He shouldn't have been so crazy to waste so many opportunities in vain. Now, only these three half-burned incense sticks were left. He had to think carefully about what he would ask for when he saw Yuan Ru.
As for the blood of the heart, there were ways.
He was afraid that Su Wanrong might notice, so Yuan Dao went directly to West Garden from behind the study. He dipped some medicine in Su Wanrong's water. Su Wanrong was thirsty at night, so she drank the tea and fell asleep again, groggy.
On the second day, Su Wanrong was still sleeping. Yuan Dao ordered people not to disturb her. After that, he ordered Yuan Lan to the study, pretending to ask her about her homework. He put medicine in the milk that Yuan Lan was drinking, thus knocking her unconscious, and took the opportunity to stab her. He took Yuan Lan's heart blood. He didn't care about giving Yuan Lan medicine.
He couldn't wait to ignite the remaining incense. He dripped Yuan Lan's blood on it.
Then, he anxiously and excitedly waited.
But as time passed by, the person who Yuan Dao was expecting never came, all the way until the incense burned out again.
Yuan Dao didn't understand what went wrong. The incense was real and he used blood from the heart. Why couldn't he summon Yuan Ru?! Could it be that in Yuan Ru's heart, her father had no weight at all?
Yuan Dao smashed all the things on the table in a fit of anger. When the outsiders heard the movement, they didn't dare to come in, so they just called out at the door, "Master!"
"Get out of here! Get out!" Yuan Dao roared angrily.
One person near him was nothing more than a wet nurse who followed Yuan Lan. She served Mother Yuan, and so Yuan Dao had to give her some face. When she heard such a big movement in the house and that Yuan Lan didn't make any movement, she was a little anxious. She quickly went to the window and gently opened the door, wanting to see what was going on inside.
The result was a terrifying scene.
Yuan Lan was lying on the couch. Her clothes were open, revealing her pale skin.
The maids were so scared that their faces turned pale, and without thinking much, they left one person here to check the situation. The others rushed to Lofty Purple Hall to inform Mother Yuan.
There were speculations in their hearts. How could the master do such a filthy and unethical thing when he seemed to be sane? The young miss was the master's biological daughter! This person was really two-faced!
When Mother Yuan came over, trembling, Yuan Dao had already stabilised his emotions, put medicine on Yuan Lan's wound, tidied up her clothes, covered her with a quilt, and made it look like she was just asleep.
"Mother, why are you here?" Yuan Dao glanced at everyone before supporting Mother Yuan.
After Mother Yuan went in, she was relieved to see Yuan Lan sleeping sweetly and looking fine. On the contrary, Yuan Dao's face was a little bad. "What were you doing in the study just now? Why was it so noisy?"
"Your son asked Lan'er about her homework, but she said she was too tired and wanted to rest for a while. While your son was annoyed, your son smashed the teacup. But seeing that Lan'er was really sleepy, your son didn't want anyone to come in to disturb Lan'er. So others were not allowed to come in," Yuan Dao explained.
Mother Yuan was relieved. "It's okay. They came running in a panic, so I thought something big happened."
Yuan Dao smiled. "What could go wrong in our own home?" But his eyes were fixed on those wet nurses. He stared so intently at them that they couldn't stand the pressure. They lowered their heads and didn't dare to make a sound.
Mother Yuan nodded and said, "This is the study. It's not convenient for Lan'er to sleep here. Let the maids take her back to her own room to rest! I don't know what happened today. Everyone is so sleepy. Lan'er fell asleep, and her mother hasn't woken up yet."
"Isn't that the case when you're tired in spring and autumn?" Yuan Dao said with a smile.
Mother Yuan asked the wet nurses to take Yuan Lan away.
After returning to the room, the maids changed Yuan Lan's clothes and wanted to check for any traces on Yuan Lan's body to confirm their guesses. They were surprised to find that there was a pinhole-sized hole in Yuan Lan's heart, and there were no traces of anything else.
What was this?
The maids looked at each other.
"Forget it. It is better for us to keep out of the affairs of the big families. Be careful. Don't talk nonsense outside. Don't forget, our families are in the house," said an older nanny.
The rest of the wet nurses agreed with it. They immediately suppressed all the thoughts in their hearts.
That's all. Didn't all wealthy families have a few filthy secrets like this? They wouldn't care about their business and wouldn't worry about this gossip.
The secret medicine Yuan Dao gave to Su Wanrong and Yuan Lan was carefully prepared by him. After taking it, people who woke up after would forget what happened before. So, Yuan Dao was not worried.
He just wondered why Su Wanrong could summon Yuan Ru, but he couldn't! But he understood one thing from it, that was that Su Wanrong and the children she gave birth to, and he and the Yuan family, were not of one mind. He needed to be vigilant.
In fact, the soul-seeking incense worked, but Yuan Ru was found out by the teachers of Declaring Clouds Sect because she had already visited the mortal world several times. Fortunately, her master treated her well and pleaded for her, so they only imprisoned her for 30 years. It was all to avoid being disturbed by the mundane world so she could practice with peace of mind.
Yuan Ru was shocked that she couldn't go out for 30 years. If something happened to her mother, what should she do? But she didn't dare to disobey her teacher's sect, so she could only accept it.
When the soul-seeking incense was lit, Yuan Ru reacted like this. She also felt that the person who burned the incense was not her mother. She was very anxious. She didn't know what happened. However, outside the cave where she lived was enchanted by her master. She couldn't get out at all.
Fortunately, Yuan Ru didn't feel the soul-seeking incense again, so she was finally relieved. If her mother was really in a hurry and couldn't see her once, she would definitely ignite the soul-seeking incense again. In this way, her mother's matter was probably not a big deal. It was probably another trivial matter.
As she thought about it like this, she started to cultivate with peace of mind. For cultivators, thirty years would soon pass. Since she couldn't get out, it was better to take this opportunity to cultivate well. If she could make some progress, her master would be happy and maybe she could go back to visit often.
Su Wanrong slept until that night. When she woke up, she was still drowsy. She forced herself to sit up from the bed, supported her head, and groaned.
The maids heard the sound and came in. "Madam, are you awake?"
"How long have I slept? What time is it now? Where's my lord?" Su Wanrong asked, holding her head.
"Madam, you have slept for a day and a night. The master is resting in the study," the maid said respectfully.
"I've slept for so long? My head hurts so much. Go and get me a doctor," Su Wanrong said as she held her head.
The maids looked at each other before one said, "Yes, this servant will go."
Chapter 262 – Raising A Son in The Cultivation World (part 14)
They came with the doctor. Yuan Dao had a worried look on his face.
The doctor took Su Wanrong's pulse, and his heart thumped. How could there be traces of drug residues in the madam's body? It seemed that the person who administered the medicine deliberately increased the dose, which was why the madam had a headache. In such a large and influential family, how could someone be drugged?
The doctor couldn't help but look up at Su Wanrong. He was just in time to see the expressionless Yuan Dao behind Su Wanrong, and immediately lowered his head. "Madam has a headache because of the wind and cold after drinking, so the madam should take two doses of medicine." Actually, it didn't matter if she didn't take medicine. After a few days, the effects of the drug in her body would dissipate and she would be fine.
The maid led the doctor down to prescribe medicine. When the doctor walked out of the room, he heard Yuan Dao's gentle annoyance. "Why did you drink? I remember that you are not good at drinking."
The doctor shook his head.
"I was happy yesterday, so I drank a few more glasses. By the way, husband, have you heard?" Su Wanrong asked softly.
Yuan Dao smiled at the right time. "Oh, are you talking about the miracle that happened to the Su family?"
Su Wanrong couldn't hide her joyful expression and said, "I was at Su family's house yesterday and I didn't expect such a coincidence. The uncles and aunts in the family were happy, so they drank a few more glasses. It was a pity that you were not there yesterday, otherwise you could have seen him too."
Yuan Dao sneered in his heart. Unfortunately he was not there? What if he was? Did she want him to bow down to his own daughter? Did she think he didn't know that it was the mother and daughter playing tricks? Did she think that she could hide all of this? She could only deceive those ignorant women and children.
"It's a pity. This time, when the immortal was here, were there any instructions or things left behind?" Yuan Dao asked deliberately.
Su Wanrong's face froze. How could she forget this?
A trace of ridicule flashed in Yuan Dao's eyes. Ignorant fool! How could he be so blind to choose her.
Su Wanrong didn't know how to explain it. She was extremely embarrassed. "How can things from the immortals be easily obtained?"
"Really? By the way, you were also present at the time. You could see clearly. Was the immortal from yesterday and the immortal who took away Ru'er the same person?" Yuan Dao asked again.
Su Wanrong said in embarrassment, "I was excited and nervous at the time. I didn't see it clearly. It should be!"
Yuan Dao smiled and said, "It's not the first time you've seen an immortal. What's so exciting about it? Besides, since it's the same immortal and he has talked to you, you should have gone over to talk for a bit. What if the immortal had given you an elixir?"
Su Wanrong was even more embarrassed, and murmured, "I didn't think about it that much at the time." She was afraid that Yuan Dao would continue to ask questions and she would make more mistakes, so she held her head and pretended to have a headache.
Seeing this, Yuan Dao sneered slightly, and helped her sit down. "Alas, this time was a good time to prove your Su family. It's a pity."
After Su Wanrong heard this, she regretted it even more. But it was too late. She had no choice. She could only think of a foolproof plan next time.
Seeing this, Yuan Dao stopped talking. He watched the maid bring the medicine up, and watched Su Wanrong lay down and rest after taking the medicine. He then left and went to the study to rest.
Rumours that the Su family met the immortal again quickly spread in the capital, but it was a little different from what the Su family and Su Wanrong expected. Most people were still skeptical. Everyone thought that this was a delusion of Su Wanrong's in order to compete with County Princess Yongning since she was jealous.
Otherwise, how could one explain that the immortal only appeared above the mansion and never went down to the Su family, and did not say anything?
Li Su didn't care about the activity outside. In order to create a suitable environment for Immortal Stays to practice, she planned to move again. After much consideration, she moved to a village at the foot of Clear Origin Mountain. It was 108,000 miles away from the jade capital. Of course, the environment was not as good as the jade capital in all aspects, but it was better for it to be quiet and for them to be undisturbed.
Li Su also liked it here. It was surrounded by nature and was quiet, and the scenery was good. When she had nothing to do, she took the maids to play all over the mountains and fields, or went fishing by the stream, or climbed the mountain to enjoy the scenery, or had a picnic by the river. They had a great time.
Immortal Stays also liked the environment on Qingyuan Mountain. It was suitable for cultivation. He was only worried that his mother would be restrained here, so he was always worried. But a few days later, he watched his mother play happily, and saw that his mother really liked it here. He was relieved.
Then, he focussed on practicing.
On Su Wanrong's side, she also heard gossip in the capital. Her parents' side was secretly complaining about her. Even when she went out to socialise, others looked at her in a wrong way. Su Wanrong was annoyed. She also complained inwardly that Yuan Ru was inattentive, thus causing her to fall into such an embarrassing state.
On that day, she lit the soul-seeking incense again and took the blood from her heart. She wanted to see Yuan Ru again.
This time, no matter what, she had to come up with something. Whether it was an elixir or a technique, she had to give it to her.
She waited until a stick of incense was burnt out, but Yuan Ru did not appear. Su Wanrong refused to believe this fact. Trembling, she lit a stick of incense again, took blood from her heart, and then stared at the incense.
But the results let her down again.
Su Wanrong gasped heavily, and pushed the incense burner to the ground. The wound on her chest was also ripped more open by her movements, and the pain was piercing. She could not help but lie on the table while clutching her chest.
In order to make Yuan Ru feel pity for her and feel soft-hearted, every time she stabbed the blood from her heart, she was ruthless. Every time, Yuan Ru would give her an elixir. After she took the immortal medicine, the wound recovered as before, and even the backlash of using the soul-seeking incense disappeared. Of course she wasn't afraid.
But this time there was an accident, and Yuan Ru didn't come. Su Wanrong felt the severe pain in her chest and regretted her actions. She was busy looking for medicine, but she didn't have any in her house. Su Wanrong didn't intend to disturb others, but at this time she couldn't care less.
The wound opened and it was bleeding. If she delayed any further, she was afraid that she would lose too much blood.
Su Wanrong stumbled open the door, wanting to call someone. She had dismissed all the people who served her, so for a while, she could not get anyone.
Su Wanrong was in despair. Her eyes darkened and she fell to the ground.
After an unknown amount of time, someone finally found Su Wanrong lying on the ground.
Mother Yuan couldn't sleep that night so she wandered out and ended up finding Su Wanrong. Mother Yuan asked a wet nurse to come and take a look.
That wet nurse was the one who happened to see Yuan Lan's wound that day. When she saw the wound on Su Wanrong's heart, she turned pale with fright. She heard that Su Wanrong stayed in her room by herself, but now she was injured for no apparent reason.
The wet nurse was shocked. This injury had happened again. Was it some sort of evil spirit?
The wet nurse now dispelled her doubts about Yuan Dao because Yuan Dao was not in the mansion tonight. There was no one else in the house. Could it be that the madam hurt herself? If this was the case, was the young miss' injury also caused by the madam? Then, the master found out by accident, which was why he was so angry?
The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. After she went back, she couldn't help but tell Mother Yuan what she had seen, heard, and guessed. Mother Yuan was shocked and sat up from the bed. "Is what you said true?"
The wet nurse knelt in front of the bed. "This servant has no evidence. It's all just speculation by this servant. But, it is strange. How could the madam get hurt when she was alone in the house? And with a wound on her heart? The eldest young miss was also hurt in the same spot. This servant inquired about it after the incident, and it so happens that there were a few times where the madam was alone in a room with no one to serve her like tonight. What could this possible be?! "
Mother Yuan's face was pale. "Quick, get someone to go and invite the master back."
"I have already sent someone to invite the master back. The master should be on his way by now," said the wet nurse.
Mother Yuan patted the bed and said, "Let someone wait at the door. As soon as the master comes back, get him to come over immediately!"
The wet nurse quickly got up from the ground and hurried to the gate.
Mother Yuan was frightened and called the wet nurse who served Yuan Lan that day. After asking carefully, she learned about the situation on that day, and her belief in the words the wet nurse said increased.
It seems that their Yuan family married in a demon!
Yuan Dao was recuperating in another manor. The wound in his heart had healed, but he didn't know what was going on. He always felt that his body was not in good condition. He was afraid of staying at home and causing his mother to worry, so he ran to another manor to recuperate. Supplements like ginseng and shouwu1 and various tonics were eaten without regards to money.
That night, as soon as he fell asleep, he heard that someone from the mansion said that Su Wanrong was injured and was in a coma, and asked him to hurry back.
After Yuan Dao asked about the situation, he sneered a few times. "Understood, come, prepare your horse!"
Yuan Dao galloped all the way, and hurried back to the Yuan manor. At the gate, he saw the wet nurse next to Mother Yuan, who conveyed the words of Mother Yuan, which asked him to hurry back.
Yuan Dao looked at the wet nurse's eyes flashing, glared at her, and quickly walked to Lofty Purple Hall.
When Yuan Dao heard what Mother Yuan had to say, his eyes widened, "Mother, maybe it was a misunderstanding?!"
"You're still defending her! What kind of * soup did she give you for you to protect her like this?! She is a monster and a scourge. Since she entered our house, everything has gone wrong. If you weren't suspicious, then why did you call Lan'er to the study that day to check her wounds while she was asleep?" Mother Yuan patted the bed board angrily.
Yuan Dao's eyes flickered after hearing this, and he realised that Mother Yuan had probably misunderstood, but instead of trying to solve the misunderstanding, he made a pained expression. "Mother! It's useless to talk about it now. The Yuan family already has a mistress who has divorced and there can't be another one."
"What? Do you want to pretend that nothing happened?" Mother Yuan said angrily. "Are you fine keeping such a scourge by your side?"
"Mother! Don't be angry. Your son knows and will deal with it properly." Yuan Dao already had an idea in his heart. He whispered softly in Mother Yuan's ear.
Mother Yuan just nodded with satisfaction. "That's good. Remember, don't be soft-hearted."
Yuan Dao answered.
Yuan Dao came out of Lofty Purple Hall and breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't expect things to develop like this. But it was good that he cleared suspicions towards him instead.
Yuan Dao went to West Garden with a stern face. The doctor was still treating Su Wanrong, and it seemed that the situation was not very good. Yuan Dao didn't immediately go in to check on Su Wanrong's situation. Instead, he replaced all the people who served in West Garden under the pretext of serving improperly. Then, he announced that the madam was unwell and needed to rest in peace. Without his permission, no one was allowed to visit.
1.(首烏) shouwu: some sort of tuber from a multiflower knotweed, according to Pleco.
Chapter 263 – Raising A Son In The Cultivation World (part 15)
It was only the next morning that Yuan Ye found out what happened last night. He heard that his mother was injured in a strange way last night, and now he didn't know if she was alive.
But before he could leave Boundless Courtyard, someone stopped him.
"Get out of the way. I want to see my mother!" Yuan Ye was young and imposing.
"Second young master, the master said that the madam is fine, but she needs to rest. No one is allowed to visit casually. After the madam's condition is stable, the master will let the second young master visit. Now, the second young master has been asked to focus on his studies."
"Why didn't my father let me visit my mother? Where is my father? I'm going to see him!" Yuan Ye wisely realised that there was something wrong with these people's attitudes, and became increasingly more anxious.
"Master is now in Lofty Purple Hall and he will come over later to inquire about the young masters' homework. Then, the second master will be able to see the master. Without the master, no one can walk around the mansion at will. The second master, please come back!"
No matter how smart Yuan Ye was, he was still a child. At this time, he lost an inch, and he was determined to rush out regardless. When he saw his immature body compared to the tall man in front of him, he had no choice but to give up the idea and went back to the house angrily.
Yuan Shou looked in front of the window, and he was beaming with joy. He had long been unhappy with Yuan Ye. He was the eldest son. He was not the madam's biological son, but according to the genealogy, he was the madam's biological son! But, everyone in the house obviously favored Yuan Ye over him, and the master often praised Yuan Ye and those who served him also followed suit.
Well now, the madam clearly did something wrong and offended father and grandmother. If madam lost power, he wanted to see how Yuan Ye would behave.
He thought of the message that his mother sent to him last night: "Be safe and don't be curious." Yuan Shou sat quietly in front of the window and practiced his handwriting.
But Yuan Ye came to look for him. "Has eldest brother heard about mother's injury? Eldest brother is also mother's child. Eldest brother must be very anxious after hearing that mother was injured. Why don't we go visit mother together?!" Yuan Ye said plausibly.
Yuan Shou rolled his eyes. "Second younger brother, do you think I'm stupid? I just saw the dispute between you and them. Father has already said that no one can walk freely around the mansion."
"Eldest brother! Mother is injured. As a son, it is human nature to care about mother. Father will surely understand. Eldest brother, it's a bit too cold for you to say that." Yuan Ye said angrily. In the past, he would definitely not say such extreme words, but now he was concerned and was not thinking clearly. He also didn't really care at the moment.
"Mother was injured and I am very worried. However, I think father's arrangement is right. Mother was injured. There is a doctor and wet nurses to serve her. What if we went? Since father didn't let us visit, he must have his reasons. We are not mother's only children, but also father's children. Obedience is filial piety. Doesn't second younger brother understand this principle?" This was the first time Yuan Shou had taught Yuan Ye as an elder brother and it felt a little cool.
"Well said!" Yuan Dao had been off to the side and listening for a long time. At this time, he came in from the door and glanced at Yuan Ye lightly. It seemed that he guessed correctly. Several of Su Wanrong's children were really not on his side.
Immediately, Yuan Dao glanced at Yuan Shou with admiration. This was his eldest son. He always thought he was mediocre and incompetent in the past, but now it seemed that he was not useless! At the very least, he was filial and obedient.
"Your eldest brother is right. I am your father, so naturally I will not harm you. Your mother's condition is not suitable for meeting people," Yuan Dao said to Yuan Ye coldly.
Yuan Ye didn't believe it. "Father, what happened to mother? How can I be at ease if I don't see her with my own eyes? Father, let me see mother!"
Yuan Dao sneered. "If you want to know so much, then as a father, I will tell you." After speaking, he glanced at Yuan Shou.
Yuan Shou immediately stood up. "Father and younger brother can talk. This son will head back." Then he ran away. His mother said that he should keep himself safe and not be curious about things he shouldn't know.
Yuan Dao nodded with satisfaction. A-Shou was like his mother, honest and responsible. He was better than just being obedient.
"Father!" Yuan Ye yelled anxiously.
"Your mother sent away the servant girl who was serving her last night and stayed in the room alone, so nobody knows what she was doing. In the middle of the night, the servant was worried and went in to check her condition, only to see her lying on the ground. She was injured and was bleeding all over the place. She is still in a coma. Your grandmother and I suspect that your mother was dealing with something evil," Yuan Dao said.
Yuan Ye's eyes widened. "Impossible! How could mother involve herself with something evil?! Someone must have framed her! Witchcraft! Someone must have harmed her!" Yuan Ye happened to read about the witchcraft disaster in the later years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in the history books. Without thinking, he blurted this out.
"You think too highly of yourself, don't you? Your mother has what virtues and abilities? Why would people use witchcraft to frame her? What would be the point of plotting against her?" Yuan Dao just thought it was funny. For the first time, he discovered that Yuan Ye was so self-righteous that it was ridiculous.
Yuan Ye knew that he had said the wrong thing, but he was just concerned and confused. "Father, mother was born in the Su family. She was sheltered by the immortals, and was lucky to be affiliated with the immortals. How would those evil things dare to approach mother? There must be someone who plotted to frame mother!"
Yuan Dao sneered and said, "Immortal protection? Yuan Ye, let me ask you this. If the Su family had a technique handed down by the immortals, and only the descendants of the Su family can practice it, can your mother teach you it?"
Yuan Ye was stunned and shook his head. "Mother said that I am too young to practice the technique for the time being. When I am a few years older, she will teach them to me."
Yuan Dao said nothing. He just looked at Yuan Ye.
"Father is saying that the immortal technique is fake? Impossible! Mother wouldn't lie. What about second older sister? When second older sister was taken away by the immortal, you were there, father. When I was born, second older sister was also there. It shouldn't be fake," Yuan Ye said excitedly.
"It doesn't matter now if it's true or not. Since you said that your mother was sheltered by the immortals and had a relationship with the immortals, we will see if the immortals show up this time to save your mother. Before that, you will stay In Boundless Courtyard. You are not allowed to go out!" Yuan Dao was too lazy to talk to Yuan Ye. He was certain that the immortals would definitely not come.
If the immortal really came and gave the elixir, he would have to take it first. In any case, he was the most important.
Yuan Dao covered his chest and suppressed the discomfort in his body. Since the last time, he always felt that his body was very weak. He needed to take ginseng soup every day and other tonics. Only then did he feel better.
He became more and more convinced that what Su Wanrong had found was not an immortal at all, but a monster. Otherwise, how could he explain his physical transformation? And as for Yuan Lan, he heard from his mother that she also got sick recently!
Yuan Dao's eyes were full of gloom. After dealing with Su Wanrong, he would go to Immortal Stays. The one Immortal Stays met must be a true immortal, and he must have a way to prolong his life!
As for whether Immortal Stays would help, Yuan Dao had never considered this issue at all. Filial piety was too important. No matter what Immortal Stays wanted, filial piety must be followed! Otherwise…
At the foot of Qingyuan Mountain, Li Su received a letter from Liu Qingwu. The letter told Li Su about the changes in the Yuan family during this period, and finally reminded Li Su that with Yuan Dao's temperament, he might come to Li Su. She would need to figure out how to deal with it.
After reading the letter, Li Su sneered slightly. The Su Wanrong in it, according to modern slang, was a bitch1. Although her methods were not very clever, compared to the original owner, it was smooth sailing and everything went well. She didn't even have to say what she wanted herself. Someone would hold it in front of her.
Now that she got out in time and stopped playing with her, Su Wanrong had lost her sense of restraint. In the end, she could only blame herself for her greed.
When Li Su was thinking about this, Immortal Stays suddenly arrived. As soon as Li Su saw him, she immediately forgot about those things. She hadn't seen him for a few days, and she always felt that he had grown a lot taller. His speech and manners were also very stable, not at all like a child of his age.
Li Su didn't know whether this was good or bad, but seeing Immortal Stays' happy appearance, she didn't think about it anymore. As long as the child was happy, it was fine.
"Mother, is the letter from uncle? Can I read it?" Immortal Stays asked.
Li Su handed the letter over. Immortal Stays took the letter and read it. He frowned slightly. "Mother, what do you think about the matter of the Yuan family?" The Yuan family announced to the public that Mrs. Su was seriously ill and could not see anyone. Yuan Dao was also taking tonics privately without restraint and they did not know why.
"The Yuan family is the Yuan family. We are us. What does the Yuan family have to do with us? Just practice hard. Don't worry about these things. You have mother here!" Li Su laughed.
Immortal Stays' eyes were bright. "Mother, your son has already achieved a little, and he will definitely work hard to cultivate to strive for an early achievement. Your son will take mother to ascend to immortality. At that time, mother will not have to be troubled by these mundane things."
Li Su smiled. She didn't want to be an immortal. What was good about being an immortal? Apart from not suffering from old age, sickness, and death, what was the point? Besides, she still had tasks to complete. She didn't plan on staying in this world for too long. But this was also a form of filial piety from this child, so Li Su just smiled and said, "Okay. Immortal Stays should continue to work hard!"
"Mm, mother, I will work hard," Immortal Stays said seriously.
"You've lost weight recently. What do you want to eat? Mother will make it for you. By the way, mother has been learning how to make clothes with Auntie Jinzhu and the others over the past few days. The craftsmanship is not good, and I can't make a coat, so I made a few inner clothes for you. They have been starched and washed. Will you try it on after dinner?" Li Su smiled.
Immortal Stays' eyes lit up. "Mother made me clothes? I'll go try it now."
Li Su was still very happy that her son was so supportive. She asked Lüzhu to bring the clothes and help Immortal Stays put them on. "Oh, it's too short. Mother didn't expect you to grow that tall. Take it off. Mother will fix it."
Immortal Stays was reluctant to take it off. "It's too short? I think it's just right. It's very comfortable." Immortal Stays took Li Su's hand. "Thank you, mother, for your hard work. This is enough. There's no need for mother to do these things anymore since it will hurt mother's eyes."
Mother's hands should be used for writing and drawing, not for needlework. Although his mother made clothes for him, he was very happy, but he was reluctant to make her work hard.
"Okay, mother knows!"
Li Su did this on a whim. She had a lot she could do to entertain herself. It was only because a while ago, it was raining and she couldn't go out, so she started to make clothes because she was bored. There were no sewing machines in this era. All the clothes were hand-sewn, which was tiring and boring. However, she had recently become interested in embroidery. She was about to find a master to learn embroidery, she wanted to practice self-cultivation!
1.(碧池) bì chí: sounds like the English word for bitch, so it is internet slang for bitch. However, it literally translates to 'clear water pond'.
Chapter 264 – Raising A Son In The Cultivation World (part 16)
Li Su and her son happily ate a meal. Immortal Stays then went to the secluded residence on the mountain to study and practice.
When he first started cultivating, he actually didn't understand a lot of things. He didn't even know some words. He slowly had to absorb things and practice slowly.
Fortunately, the technique that the immortal passed on to him was amazing, as if it was tailor-made for him. Once he found the door and entered, his cultivation went very smoothly. However, he cultivated by himself without the guidance of a master. He could only explore slowly. It probably took more effort than others.
If he had been willing to be a disciple at the beginning, it would have been much smoother.
But he didn't regret it. Cultivation to be an immortal was his dream, but being able to accompany his mother and be filial to her was also what he wanted to do. The two did not conflict.
Immortal Stays touched his stomach. He just ate a lot of food. It was likely that, after training later, there would be a lot of impurities in his body. There were so many impurities in the mortal world. Mother ate them every day, so there must be even more impurities in her body. He wanted to practice as soon as possible. If he could achieve something in the future, he could also help his mother recuperate her body.
Li Su watched Immortal Stays go to Secluded Bamboo House again and sighed. She really didn't know much about the cultivation of immortals, and she didn't know how to help. She heard that cultivators generally refrained from eating grain in order to achieve immortality because there were too many impurities in the food of the mortal world or something.
When Immortal Stays was cultivating, she would have people bring food to him on time for three meals a day. But Immortal Stays didn't eat much. In the past few days, he didn't move at all. Li Su wondered if Immortal Stays had started to refrain from eating grain.
But just now, she didn't think too much about it. She only said that Immortal Stays was too thin and wanted to make something for him. Immortal Stays ate a lot in order to make her happy, and she didn't know if it had any effect on him. This stupid boy didn't say anything at that time. Li Su was a little worried.
Seeing that Li Su was a little gloomy, Lüzhu quickly said, "Young miss, didn't you say you want to learn embroidery? The embroidery girl that Sister Jinzhu was looking for has already arrived. Would you like to meet her?"
Cuizhu and the others also looked at Li Su expectantly.
Seeing that they were so attentive, Li Su said, "Okay, let's go meet her!" Forget it. She wouldn't think about it. She would pay attention next time and not do it again!
On the Yuan family's side, Yuan Dao once again rejected the Su family's request to visit Su Wanrong, and the Su family left angrily.
Yuan Dao watched the Su family leaving with an expressionless face.
"Master, the madam wants to see you and has something to tell you, look…"
"Understood, I'll go over later." Yuan Dao said coldly. He wanted to see if Su Wanrong had anything else to quibble about.
Yuan Dao went to West Garden and ordered someone to unlock the door. After entering, the door of the main room was locked again.
Su Wanrong heard the movement outside the door and rushed to the door excitedly. "Husband! Is that you, husband?"
After the door opened, Yuan Dao stepped into the sunlight.
Su Wanrong hadn't seen the sun for a long time, and she couldn't open her eyes due to how bright it was.
After Yuan Dao entered, the door was closed again.
Su Wanrong got used to it. When she saw Yuan Dao, she rushed over. "Husband, listen to me. It has nothing to do with me. I don't know what's going on! I'm innocent."
Yuan Dao walked into the room and sat on the chair. "Innocent? It has nothing to do with you? Hehe! Let me ask you something then. Why did you send away the person who was serving you? Well? How did you get an injury on your heart? What is going on?"
Su Wanrong opened her mouth. She didn't know what to say, so she could only defend herself weakly, "Husband, I really don't know what's going on."
Yuan Dao saw that Su Wanrong didn't plan to tell the truth. He was even more disappointed with Su Wanrong. He sneered a few times. "Okay, I don't want to know the reason. Just stay here!"
Su Wanrong suffered from her last injury. When she was emotional, her heart ached. She was trapped here and couldn't go out. At least she still got three meals a day, but there was nothing else. She couldn't contact Yuan Ru now and couldn't get the elixir. She was terrified. She needed a doctor and tonics. She wanted to live well, and she wanted to be rich and honoured for a lifetime!
"Husband, we are married. You can't do this. We still have a son, Yuan Ye is still young. He can't live without a mother. Husband! Husband!" Su Wanrong said as she pulled Yuan Dao's sleeve.
"Who said Yuan Ye doesn't have a mother? Isn't his mother standing here perfectly fine? Don't worry, you will always be my wife and the Yuan family's mistress. Even if you suffer from a chronic illness and can't see people, my Yuan family will take good care of you." Yuan Dao sneered.
Yuan Dao prepared to leave.
Seeing this, Su Wanrong gritted her teeth. "Husband, I have a secret to tell you!" She could not be locked here any longer. She was going out!
Yuan Dao's eyes were sharp. Was she finally going to say it?
Su Wanrong looked solemn. "This matter is very important. Please don't spread it out."
Yuan Dao didn't speak. He just stared at her, waiting for her to talk.
Su Wanrong stood up, straightened her clothes, and sat down beside Yuan Dao. "The ancestors of the Su family once gave birth to an immortal. This is true, and it is not that the descendants offered outlandish explanations. As for the technique left by the immortal, it happened too long ago for it to be verified. But, the immortal ancestor did leave something for the descendants of the Su family. However, the immortal ancestor was afraid that the descendants would abuse it, so he set up restrictions. Every time a descendant of the Su family uses it, they need a drop of blood from their heart. There will also be a backlash and they will lose ten years of their life. Therefore, for so many years, no one in the Su family used it without authorisation. Later, I accidentally came across this thing."
Speaking of which, Su Wanrong pretended to be mysterious and glanced at Yuan Dao.
Seeing that Yuan Dao didn't take it seriously, Su Wanrong felt a little resentful. She continued. "Does husband know what the immortal left behind?"
Seeing her appearance, Yuan Dao was bored. He turned his head away and didn't speak.
Su Wanrong bit her lip. What kind of reaction was this, husband?! This was different from what she expected. Didn't the world respect and seek immortals the most? Even her husband! Didn't he marry her as an equal wife for the sake of the Su family's immortal technique? She thought that if she talked about this matter, her husband's attitude would turn around immediately. But why was it that her husband's response so cold?
Su Wanrong felt humiliated, but in this situation, she had no choice but to make it clear. "The item left by the immortal ancestor is called soul-seeking incense. The immortal ancestor put a ray of his soul in the soul-seeking incense. When the descendants of the Su family are in danger, they can light the soul-seeking incense. The immortals will perceive it and then appear to solve the future generation's problems. But because the soul-seeking incense needs blood from the heart. Since there will be a backlash, no one has ignited it for thousands of years."
Yuan Dao's eyes finally changed at this time.
Su Wanrong noticed it, and was slightly proud in her heart. "The first time I lit the soul-seeking incense was when I gave birth to the twins, but the boy died and the girl lived. I knew very well that if nothing happened, my daughter and I were doomed to fall out of favour. So, I lit the soul-seeking incense. I didn't expect that it was not the ancestor of the Su family that appeared, but another immortal. I learned from the immortal that the immortal ancestor of the Su family had already fallen for unknown reasons. Before his fall, he entrusted this task to this immortal. If the Su family was in trouble, then he would help. So when I lit the soul-seeking incense, the immortal appeared. You already know what happened later, husband."
When Yuan Dao thought about his excitement at that time, he felt it was ironic. "You said that using the soul-seeking incense will have a backlash and it will be detrimental to your lifespan. Aren't you afraid?"
"What's there to be afraid of? My daughter is also an immortal now. Can she still watch me, her mother, die? The backlash from the soul-seeking incense was resolved." Su Wanrong's eyes flashed with a hint of pride.
"But I don't know what happened that time! I lit the soul-seeking incense, but there was no response at all. I was angry and anxious. I burned a few sticks of incense in a row, and took a few drops of blood from the heart, but there was no response at all. I was in a hurry and angry. I accidentally tore the wound, which made me fall into a coma. After waking up, I was locked in the room without seeing the light of day. I didn't understand what was going on at first, but later, I found out that someone changed my soul-seeking incense!"
Speaking of this, Su Wanrong glared at Yuan Dao with eyes full of anger. "Husband must know what's going on, right?"
Yuan Dao snorted coldly and did not speak.
Su Wanrong continued. "In the whole Yuan mansion, only I really enter my bedroom. I can't think of anyone else who can go in and out of my bedroom without me knowing it. Apart from you, husband, I can't think of anyone else. Is that right, husband?"
Su Wanrong originally didn't want to not give face to Yuan Dao. After all, she knew that not giving face to Yuan Dao at this time would not benefit her at all. But, Yuan Dao's attitude made her very unhappy and she had to ask clearly.
Yuan Dao sneered. "You said I changed your incense. Is there any evidence?"
Seeing this, Su Wanrong sneered slightly. "It's fine if you don't say anything about it. We are husband and wife. Husband and wife are one. Whatever is mine is also my husband's. It's just that, husband, this soul-seeking incense is only useful for the blood of the descendants of the Su family. I tried it rashly. Why don't you return the soul-seeking incense to me? When Ru'er arrives, I will ask Ru'er to give me a few more elixirs so that husband doesn't have to worry about his body."
She had already noticed that Yuan Dao's expression was not good. After thinking about it for a while, she understood the reason. Although she was angry and annoyed, Su Wanrong still held back. She had concealed this matter, and now that she wanted to ask him, she had to be humble.
Yuan Dao glanced at her. "You must be joking! Never mind if I have even seen the incense. Just take a step back and think about it. Even if I did take that incense, are you the only descendant of the Su family?"
Su Wanrong's expression changed. "Husband!"
Yuan Dao looked at Su Wanrong coldly. "You are always like this. You think highly of yourself! Be smart!" If she had told him these things earlier, how could things have become like this? After all, it was all Su Wanrong's fault!
Chapter 265 – Raising A Son In The Cultivation World (part 17)
Su Wanrong didn't expect Yuan Dao to say this. She was both ashamed and annoyed. "Husband! How could you say that to me?! I admit that I hid it from you, so that is my fault. But, husband, you have to think about me. I alone do not own the soul-seeking incense. How could I talk about it casually to others? Besides, everything I have done is for the sake of…"
Yuan Dao stared at Su Wanrong. "Say it. Why don't you continue? Who are you doing it for?"
Su Wanrong opened her mouth and suddenly ran out of words.
Yuan Dao sneered. "There's no need to say it. You aren't doing it for anyone at all. Aren't you just doing it for yourself? You are a hypocritical and selfish woman!"
Su Wanrong suddenly laughed. "I'm vain and selfish? What about you? Are you any better than me? If you aren't vain, then why did you want to marry me as an equal wife? Wasn't it because you coveted the techniques handed down by the immortals of my Su family? You are not selfish? Then why do you want to take in a concubine after marrying me? You are just seeking personal gains! You are the most shameless and selfish person! Fortunately, you were inevitably punished for your misdeeds. In the end, you get nothing!"
Yuan Dao was angered by Su Wanrong's words. She was challenging his authority! He slapped her.
Su Wanrong was knocked to the ground. There was blood oozing from the corner of her mouth. She slowly reached out and touched her face, raised her head slowly, and looked at Yuan Dao. "You hit me! You dared to hit me!"
The anger and dissatisfaction that had been accumulating in her heart for a long time finally burst out. Su Wanrong always believed that, even if she was married to Yuan Dao, because Yuan Dao married a wife first, she was always inferior in terms of name. Even if she was an equal wife, even if Yuan Dao and Liu Qingyun divorced, she was still inferior. In addition, she claimed to be the descendant of an immortal, and had an item like the soul-seeking incense in her hand. No matter who she got married to, it would bring huge benefits and honour to the other party. The other party should have regarded her highly.
But Yuan Dao dared to hit her now!
Su Wanrong couldn't bear it anymore. She got up from the ground and rushed towards Yuan Dao like crazy. Originally, Yuan Dao didn't care, since there were inherent differences in physical strength between men and women. But, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of what Su Wanrong was holding. Upon closer inspection, it was actually a pair of scissors!
She actually wanted to attack him!
This realisation made Yuan Dao very angry. However, at this time, Su Wanrong had already rushed over and stabbed Yuan Dao with the scissors. Yuan Dao quickly avoided her, but Su Wanrong was crazy. Yuan Dao couldn't resist her after a while, so Su Wanrong stabbed him several times.
Seeing this, Su Wanrong became even more agitated.
Yuan Dao dodged backwards. He touched a vase next to him, picked it up, and smashed it on Su Wanrong's head. Su Wanrong's eyes widened. Blood slowly seeped out from her forehead. There was an increasing amount of blood, and finally Su Wanrong's eyes rolled and she fainted!
Yuan Dao watched Su Wanrong faint. He put the vase aside, and clapped his hands. "Servant, go and get a doctor for the madam. The madam went insane and tried to assassinate me, but I accidentally smashed a vase on the madam."
Someone went immediately.
Not long after, someone invited a doctor to come.
The doctor bandaged Su Wanrong's wound and said that the madam had lost a lot of blood and needed a tonic.
Yuan Dao didn't take it seriously at all. She would still get three meals a day. He did not mention if there would be additional supplements for her.
He then only added a lot of guards in West Garden and added a few more locks to the door.
When Yuan Dao came out of West Garden, Yuan Ye rushed over to West Garden. "Father, how is mother's condition? Please let me see mother! Even if mother does something wrong, you should forgive her for your son's sake. How could you accidentally hurt mother?!"
Now that Yuan Dao knew the background of this son, he no longer had the same affection and tolerance for him in the past. "Servant, remove the people who are serving the second young master and hit them twenty times! Pick more obedient people to serve him!"
Yuan Ye turned pale. "Father!"
"Your mother lost her mind and wanted to take your father's life with a pair of scissors! For your father, it was self-defence! Would it have been possible to kill your father by slashing his neck? Did you even think about your father?" Yuan Dao said coldly.
Yuan Ye saw that his father's arm was also injured. "Father, I…"
"Go back to Boundless Courtyard and stay there! Someone, go lock it!" Yuan Dao didn't even look at Yuan Ye and ordered the gates of West Garden to be locked.
Yuan Ye watched the gate get locked and couldn't help but run a few steps forward. He leaned on the door and wailed. "Mother! Mother!"
Yuan Dao looked at him and sneered a few times. What a filial son! Snort! It was a pity that he only had his mother in his eyes. He couldn't see his father at all! Look at this good child the Su family gave birth to!
Yuan Dao turned and walked away with no expression on his face. He left Yuan Ye alone at the gate, shouting and wailing.
It wasn't until Yuan Lan arrived in a hurry when she got the news that she took Yuan Ye with her.
"Younger bro, I don't understand what happened between our parents, but it's a foregone conclusion that mother fell out of favour with father and grandmother. We can't change anything. You have to take care of yourself!" Yuan Lan pulled Yuan Ye into the garden and found a secluded place to talk to him.
"Can you just watch mother suffer like this and do nothing? Then you and I are completely different!" Yuan Ye was full of grief and anger.
"That's not what I meant. Although mother has fallen out of favour, she is still father's wife and the mistress of the Yuan family. Besides, she still has you and me. As long as you and I live up to her expectations, are you afraid that your mother won't have a bright future?" Yuan Lan advised.
Yuan Ye looked at Yuan Lan. "Older sister, what do you mean?"
Yuan Lan didn't speak, but her expression was very clear.
Yuan Ye understood and nodded slowly. "Older sister is right! I know what to do!"
"You are mother's good son, and older sister's good younger brother! Work hard and cheer up mother! In the future, mother will rely on us!" Yuan Lan said. "In order not to make father and grandmother angry, in the future, older sister will treat you and Yuan Shou equally. Older sister will sometimes even value Yuan Shou more than you, but you have to remember that in this mansion, only you and I are real siblings and that blood is thicker than water. In older sister's heart, you are my only younger brother! Older sister is all for your future!"
Yuan Ye nodded. "Older sister, don't worry. Younger brother understands."
Seeing this, Yuan Lan smiled with satisfaction. The sister and brother talked more before going back separately.
Yuan Lan watched Yuan Ye go away. She watched Yuan Ye retreat and a strange smile appeared on her face. After returning to Lofty Purple Hall, it so happened that Mrs. Li brought Yuan Lang to have fun with Mother Yuan. Yuan Shou now lived in Boundless Courtyard. Mother Yuan saw Yuan Ye and Yuan Shou less than Yuan Lang, who saw Mother Yuan every day. Therefore, Mother Yuan now preferred Yuan Lang.
In fact, Yuan Lang was now at the age where he should move to the front yard, but Yuan Dao was currently focussed on taking care of his body, and he didn't care about anything else at all. He even rarely went to Mrs. Li's courtyard. Mrs. Li's boudoir was lonely. She was reluctant to let her young son go, and she was afraid of losing Mother Yuan's favour, so she always pretended not to know.
Yuan Lan slowly stepped into the room and greeted Mother Yuan first, then to Mrs. Li. Yuan Lan was the eldest daughter after all. Although Mrs. Su had lost power, Mother Yuan liked Yuan Lan a lot. Mrs. Li also didn't dare to be arrogant. She didn't dare to accept Yuan Lan's courtesy, so she quickly stood up and said, "Hello, young miss."
When Mother Yuan saw that her daughter-in-law was sensible, and the concubine knew the rules, she felt happy in her heart. This was a sign of family harmony! Mother Yuan looked at the slim Yuan Lan and felt even more content because she taught her well. Her granddaughter did not follow her evil mother! "Lan'er, where were you just now? Lang'er has been yelling for his older sister to play with him."
"Grandmother, I was worried about my second younger brother, so I went to find him," Yuan Lan told the truth.
Speaking of Yuan Ye, the smile on Mother Yuan's face suddenly diminished. Speaking of which, apart from that child, Yuan Ye was the official grandson of the Yuan family. It was a pity that this child was not well-educated and only thought of his mother!
When Yuan Lan saw this, she felt a little remorse. She didn't expect that her grandmother would be too lazy to hide her dislike of her second younger brother. What the hell did mother do to disgust her father and grandmother, and to tire out her second younger brother?!
Mrs. Li still had a good impression of Yuan Lan. Besides, she was just a daughter. Seeing what happened, she quickly gave her son a look. Yuan Lang jumped off the chair and grabbed Yuan Lan's hand. "Older sister, older sister, play with me!"
Yuan Lang's tender voice made Mother Yuan come back to her senses. "Go play with Lang'er! He has been waiting for you for a long time."
Yuan Lan nodded meekly, then took Yuan Lang's hand and went to the table next to them. She suppressed her disgust and impatience, and played a game of generals and soldiers with him.
"Lan'er is still very good." Mother Yuan smiled when she saw the harmonious relationship between the siblings.
Mrs. Li nodded and said with a smile, "Old madam, you raised them yourself. How could you be wrong?"
Mother Yuan gave her a meaningful look. "I'm getting old too, and the madam is ill again. It's not good if there is nobody looking after the house."
Mrs. Li's heart beat faster and she couldn't believe her ears.
Mother Yuan said, "You are still young and Lang'er is older now. You don't need to be so hands on with him. From now on, it will be up to you to manage the house!"
Mrs. Li quickly stood up. "Old Madam, I…"
"Then it's settled. There's just one thing you have to keep in mind. Our Yuan family's poetry and books are passed down to the next generation in our family and we treat people with generosity. There must be no scandals," said Mother Yuan.
Mrs. Li was a smart person. Even if Mrs. Su lost power, she would never think of taking her place. Her identity as a concubine was destined to stay. Besides, Mrs. Su had a son and a daughter, and the daughter was accepted as an apprentice by an immortal. How could she be neglected? If something happened, she would be the first to suffer misfortune.
"This concubine understands. Please don't worry, old madam!" Mrs. Li said solemnly. Just at that moment, she heard her son's laughter. She turned her head and glanced to the side. Since Yuan Lan took the initiative to show her favour, she would naturally return the favour.
"Old madam, this concubine still has an idea. The eldest young lady is getting older. It's time for her to learn some of these things. Why doesn't the eldest young lady assist this concubine with the housekeeping and management!" Mrs. Li said respectfully.
Mother Yuan smiled and was gratified. "It's still you who is sensible and generous! This proposal is very good. I almost overlooked it. Lan'er is the eldest young lady of the Yuan family after all. If does well, she can also help her siblings."
Although Yuan Lan had been playing with Yuan Lang all the time, her focus was mostly on Mother Yuan and Mrs. Li. She naturally heard the conversation between the two.
Yuan Lan smiled slightly. Her painstaking efforts to please Yuan Lang, to win over Mrs. Li, and to flatter Mother Yuan were not in vain.
All the hard work finally paid off!
Originally, Yuan Lan didn't need to be so careful. It was a pity that her biological mother was not up to the mark, and the good situation was single-handedly ruined by her mother. This harmed Yuan Lan and she had to make preparations. On the one hand, she surrendered his status to win over her concubine mother and younger brother, and on the other hand, she had to maintain a good relationship with her biological mother and her younger brother.
It was hard work, but it was fine as long as she could achieve her goals! Yuan Lan thought so.
Chapter 266 – Raising A Son In The Cultivation World (part 18)
Time flew by and in a blink of an eye, ten years had passed.
Immortal Stays had successfully passed the body training period and the Qi refining period. He was now entering the foundation building period. Without the guidance of a master and the assistance of medicinal herbs, it was already remarkable that he had reached this stage with his own efforts. He knew that the further he got, the harder it would be to cultivate, but he would not give up. He was enjoying it!
From Li Su's point of view, Immortal Stays was very different now. First of all, from an appearance point of view, Immortal Stays looked good, and looked younger than ordinary people. His skin, especially, looked great even though he did not maintain it, which made Li Su envious. He was also tall, Li Su estimated that he was at least 1.9 metres tall. As for his figure, the ancients had large clothes and she couldn't see it. But when Li Su looked at him, he was definitely not like a weak scholar.
Secondly, in terms of temperament, Immortal Stays was fine in the past, but now he had added a sense of indifference and ease. When he gave a slight smile, it made people feel like a spring breeze had blown.
There were many, many more things that Li Su didn't mention, but in Li Su's opinion, probably the young men all over the world together were not as good as her son.
"If you are like this, I really don't have to worry about letting you go back to Jade City. Otherwise, you should stay in Qingyuan Mountain and continue to practice!" Li Su joked.
"Mother!" In recent years, every time Li Su saw Immortal Stays, she would make fun of him. Immortal Stays was used to it, but he still felt a little helpless.
He figured out that his mother would suffer a deadly calamity this year and if she passed it safely, she would live for a long time. Sixty years was enough for him to find a way to prolong his mother's life. If she couldn't get through it safely, then… That was absolutely not possible!
No matter what, he did not feel at ease letting his mother return to Jade City at this time. He would have to accompany her.
"Okay, okay, stop joking. This year is your uncle's fiftieth birthday. Your uncle started writing to me last year and asked me to go back. I was thinking that I haven't gone back for more than ten years, so I should go back and celebrate it. It's just… I'm serious. You really don't need to go back with me. You are so attractive. You know that your uncle has always wanted to marry Mingzhu to you, and you have been cultivating and have no intention of getting married, so don't go back! "Li Su said.
Immortal Stays thought about it and decided to tell her the truth. "Mother, I have calculated that you will have a life and death calamity this year. So this year, I will go wherever you go."
When Jinzhu and the others heard it, their expressions changed greatly. They looked at Li Su nervously, and tried to persuade her. "Young miss, let the young master follow you. Otherwise, we will not return to Jade City."
Li Su was a little speechless. Ten years later, the few maids around her still refused to get married, and they still followed her. They stayed in Qingyuan Mountain, and they thought it was like a paradise. She was not willing to leave Qingyuan Mountain, and even thought that it would be good to die here.
However, some things were unavoidable and had to be faced. She couldn't hide in Qingyuan Mountain for the rest of her life without going out! But Immortal Stays said something about a life and death calamity. She remembered that the original owner probably died this year, and died by anger. But many things in this life were different. However, the death calamity still existed. What was going on?
After many transmigrations, Li Su was not afraid of death, but her competitive spirit was aroused.
"Okay, then let's go together," Li Su said.
Only then did Immortal Stays feel relieved. "Mother, when will you leave?"
"In five days. You have to be ready by then!" Li Su said.
Immortal Stays smiled. In fact, he didn't need to prepare anything. He could change it with a technique. But, mother said that since he was cultivating in the mortal world, he must follow the rules of the mortal world. Unless he encountered something urgent, he shouldn't rely on his cultivation base to arbitrarily interfere in mortal affairs.
Five days later, Li Su, Immortal Stays, and the party set off, ready to return to Jade City.
In Jade City, Yuan Dao also heard from a friend that Liu Qingwu was celebrating his 50th birthday. Yuan Dao was unhappy. He was over ten years younger than Liu Qingwu, but now that the two of them stood side-by-side, he actually looked older. The damage he suffered to his heart back then was not reversible. In the past few years, no matter how much progress he made, it had little effect.
But what made Yuan Dao feel better was that the slu*t, Su Wanrong, was growing old with him. Only Yuan Lan, probably because of her youth, did not show any traces of the backlash of the soul-seeking incense. But, she looked more mature than her peers.
Therefore, Mother Yuan was now anxious to find a husband for Yuan Lan.
Yuan Dao did not dare not tell anyone this secret. He could only keep it buried deep in his heart.
Yuan Dao suddenly remembered that Liu Qingyun and her son would definitely come back for Liu Qingwu's birthday. The mother and son disappeared for ten years. He searched for them for ten years. Now there was finally news.
Today's Yuan Dao no longer cared about official positions. Compared with fame and fortune, life was the most important thing. Only by living well could he continue to enjoy life and be rich and prosperous.
If he could see Qingyun and Immortal Stays again, no matter what the price was , even if he had to kneel to Liu Qingyun and admit his mistake, he would do it and ask for forgiveness. He would do what it took in order to let Immortal Stays take action to extend his life. There must be a way to stay immortal.
In the Liu family, Liu Qingwu ordered people to make a lot of new clothes for his beloved daughter. He added a lot of jewelry so that she could dress up well and strive to make a stunning appearance in front of Immortal Stays.
Liu Mingzhu looked at the dazzling array of clothes and jewelry, but lacked interest.
"Young miss, the seventh young madam is here."
"Quickly invite seventh sister-in-law in." The seventh young master was Liu Mingzhu's older brother who shared the same mother and father. Liu Mingzhu had the best relationship with seventh sister-in-law.
"Mingzhu!" Mrs. Yan looked at the clothes and jewelry on the table slowly. A trace of envy flashed in her eyes. This little girl's life was really good. However, it was still a little worse than that aunt.
"What's wrong? You look gloomy. Is there something on your mind?" Mrs. Yan sat down beside Liu Mingzhu.
"Seventh sister-in-law, I don't like him, but my father, mother, and a few older brothers all said…" Liu Mingzhu was too embarrassed to say the following words. Especially after she knew that person, she was even more reluctant.
"Fool!" Mrs. Yan said angrily. "How could your father, mother, and brothers harm you? Even your seventh older brother… When he talked about it in private, said that cousin Immortal Stays was a good match for you!"
"I know. They all say that Auntie County Princess is as rich as an entire nation. If I marry cousin Immortal Stays, I won't have to worry about food and clothing, or being wealthy and prosperous. But in my opinion, what good is fame and fortune? I don't like it. I just don't like it! I don't want to marry someone I've never met!" Liu Mingzhu said disdainfully. Her cousin, Baozhu, in the second courtyard was favored by the empress and was chosen as the crown princess. The Liu family had risen with the tides. Her aunt was no more than a county princess. No matter how honorable it was, how far could that title go? If she was really a vain person, wouldn't it be better to enter the palace? She was just disdainful.
Mrs. Yan knew about this little sister-in-law. She was spoiled by her father and husband. There was no distinction between good and bad. However, this was mentioned before. Mingzhu's reaction at that time was not so intense. Now, could it be…
"Mingzhu, tell your sister-in-law, is there someone in your heart?" Mrs. Yan was afraid that her tone would be too strong and frighten her. She deliberately continued in a joking tone, "If you really have someone you like, you might as well say it outright. If the other party's family background is comparable to ours, maybe father will agree."
"Will he?"
Mrs. Yan didn't expect Liu Mingzhu to really be a girl in love.
Mrs. Yan said with a smile, "Of course. Father loves you so much. In these years, no matter what you want, father would give it to you. Look at you. It seems that you really have someone you like. Tell your sister-in-law, how did you meet? Which family is he from? Does he know who you are?"
Liu Mingzhu didn't suspect this and blushed. "I went to Orchid Mountain Temple with mother to offer incense that day. I thought the fragrance in the temple was too strong, so I went to the back to clear my head in the woods. I didn't hold the veil tightly and was blown away by the wind and fell into the river. I was afraid others would find me and many things would happen, so I cried anxiously. Cuilü can't swim and we were in a hurry. He appeared and rescued the veil from the water for me. Then… Then…"
Liu Mingzhu looked shy.
"Then what? Who was he?" Mrs. Yan asked.
"He introduced himself and said that he is the son of the Yuan family. the former Minister of Works. Sister-in-law, the family background of the Yuan family is comparable to that of our Liu family. Do you think dad would agree?" Liu Mingzhu asked expectantly.
Mrs. Yan held back her anger. "Did you meet again later? Did you exchange anything?"
Liu Mingzhu looked shy and said angrily, "Sister-in-law, what are you talking about?! We met a few times later, but we were courteous and polite. We didn't do anything out of line."
Only then did Mrs. Yan feel relieved. "Okay, I know about this, so don't make a statement. I'll make a decision after discussing it with your older brother. Besides, it's father's fiftieth birthday soon, so wait for father's birthday to pass. We can talk about it later." Her sister-in-law was confused and had a strong will. Mrs. Yan was afraid that she would cause trouble that would be difficult to clean up, so Mrs. Yan had to coax her first.
"However, what if dad proposes my marriage with cousin Immortal Stays on his birthday?" Liu Mingzhu asked eagerly. "I don't want to marry someone else."
Mrs. Yan held back her anger. "Don't worry, your older brother will handle it. It will be fine."
"Thank you, sister-in-law. Then please, brother and sister-in-law." Only then did Liu Mingzhu smile happily and have the energy to play with the new clothes and new jewelry.
Mrs. Yan hurried back to the room and ordered someone to invite her husband to come back. The seventh young master, Liu Yuanchen, came back in a hurry. Mrs. Yan waved everyone away and told him what happened.
Liu Yuanchen's face turned blue with anger. "Nonsense! Does she not have eyes? She is interested in Yuan Ye?!"
Mrs. Yan knew that her husband valued his younger sister, and she could say whatever she wanted. If someone else said something, he could fight with others. "I can't blame Mingzhu. After all, Mingzhu didn't know what happened back then."
Liu Yuanchen sighed. "Having said that, but…"
"Why don't you go to your father to test it out first? It's better to make plans for this matter early, lest it becomes hard to clean up," Mrs. Yan said.
Liu Yuanchen thought about it too. He hurried to find his father. He wasn't worried about his father being angry. After all, when it came to caring about Mingzhu, his father blew him out of the water.
Chapter 267 – Raising A Son In The Cultivation World (part 19)
Liu Yuanchen guessed it well. When Liu Qingwu learned that Liu Mingzhu was in love with Yuan Ye, he was very angry at first and couldn't help but to run to confront Liu Mingzhu.
Seeing that her father already knew, Liu Mingzhu simply said that she would not marry anyone except Yuan Ye. She would rather die.
Liu Qingwu was furious and reached out his hand to fight, but he was not willing to do so. He only said that it was absolutely impossible to marry Liu Mingzhu to the Yuan family. Then, he ordered that Liu Mingzhu was banned from going out.
Liu Mingzhu was also angry. She simply stopped eating and drinking and started a hunger strike.
In the end, it was Liu Qingwu's love for his daughter which had the upper hand. Liu Yuanchen beat the drums, saying that Yuan Ye was a talented person with a similar family background. Yuan Ye was eager to learn and was smart and was not like his father, so he was a good match. Liu Qingwu's attitude deteriorated and he wanted to fulfill Liu Mingzhu's wish.
When Mrs. Liu-Xie found out, she was very angry. "How can you explain this to Qingyun?"
Liu Qingwu didn't dare to look directly at Mrs. Liu-Xie and looked around. "Qingyun will definitely forgive me. She is also a mother, and she would do anything for her children!"
Mrs. Liu-Xie snorted a few times. "You want to marry Mingzhu to the Yuan family. I can't control that. Liu Mingzhu is not my daughter."
Mrs. Liu-Xie acted resolutely and immediately found the clan elders and removed Liu Mingzhu's name from her own name. She couldn't raise such a daughter!
Not only did Mrs. Liu-Xie object, but even Liu Qingtong objected. Liu Qingwu was angry. This master's daughter could marry whoever she wanted! She didn't need to be judged by them!
Seeing that Liu Qingwu was so obsessed, Mrs. Liu-Xie quickly asked someone to send a letter to Liu Qingyun.
After Li Su received the letter, she snorted a few times. She didn't care who Liu Mingzhu married, but Liu Qingwu's attitude made her unhappy.
Since that was the case, then he couldn't blame her.
Li Su explained things and Jinzhu led the way. Soon, white jade candy with whiter color, finer particles, sweeter taste, and with a cheaper price than snowflake candy appeared on the market. The sales of the snowflake candy plummeted.
Liu Qingwu had made a lot of money from selling snowflake candy over the years, and the journey had been smooth. He was too used to how easy it was. Now that this kind of thing happened, he couldn't rush things.
Liu Qingwu was in high spirits preparing a dowry for his daughter, but he was in a hurry when he received the news. He also planned to give Mingzhu 10% of his dividends in the sugar mill as a dowry. With this, Mingzhu would not have to worry about money in this life. Now that the so-called white jade candy has come out, the sugar mill was worthless. How could this be good?
"This white jade candy seems to have spread all over the country overnight. The people behind it must have planned it. For today, we should quickly investigate and find out who the master is behind this white jade candy," Liu Qingwu said.
Liu Qingsong snorted coldly. "Did you forget who developed the snowflake candy?"
"You mean Qingyun? Impossible! What reason does she have to do this…?" Liu Qingwu was originally very angry, but in the end, he was not confident enough.
"Why can't she do this? Eldest brother, you can marry your daughter to the son of Mrs. Su. Why can't Qingyun make white jade candy to compete with the Liu family?" Liu Qingsong said angrily.
"That's right, eldest brother, what you did was unkind in the first place! Mingzhu can marry anyone, but she can't marry someone with the surname Yuan!" Liu Qingtong said. "Eldest brother, since you insist on doing your own thing, you can't blame others. "
His youngest daughter was about to become a crown princess, so he naturally had the confidence to say such a thing.
"I am not the only one to lose in this matter. Aren't you in a hurry?" Liu Qingwu said urgently. He wanted to win over a few of his brothers to play an emotional card to ask Qingyun to hand over the recipe for the white jade candy. If possible, if he could use this recipe for his daughter to get her the title of County Princess. Then, Mingzhu would not have to worry about anything for the rest of his life.
"What can we do? We are not better than eldest brother, who has a big family and a precious daughter. You want this today and you'll want something else tomorrow. Even her dowry is comparable to the crown princess. The money earned by the sugar mill for ten years is enough for a few of us to live. Don't bother, eldest brother, "Liu Qingtong said disdainfully.
What he didn't say was that Qingyun had already sent the recipe for white jade candy over. Baozhu personally presented it to the crown prince, and together with the crown prince, they presented it to the emperor. Just like last time, the emperor handed over the private management of the white jade candy to Qingyun. At the same time, he secretly gave Baozhu a lot of things.
Items were secondary. It was important to get the emperor's and crown prince's favour.
Liu Qingsong and Liu Qingbai had the same attitude. Over the years, the income they had accumulated was enough for their descendants to spend. Moreover, the sugar mill was not without income, but the income was not as good as before. Eldest brother, this was greedy enough!
"You guys!" Liu Qingwu said with a red face.
"Eldest brother, younger brother has something to do at home, so I will leave first." Liu Qingtong stood up.
Liu Qingsong and Liu Qingbai followed closely. In the end, only Liu Qingwu was left standing there alone.
Liu Qingwu didn't give up, and immediately wrote a letter explaining that Mingzhu was stubborn, and that he, as a father, could not force her. He also said that marriage was predestined by God and could not be forced.
When Li Su saw the letter, she laughed angrily. Liu Qingwu was too self-righteous. He thought that she was angry because he didn't marry Liu Mingzhu to Immortal Stays. It was ridiculous. Her Immortal Stays never planned to get married, and even if he wanted to, she would have never considered Liu Mingzhu!
Li Su replied to the letter, expressing her own meaning unceremoniously.
"Young miss, shall we go back to Jade City?" Jinzhu asked.
"Don't go back. Why should we go back?" Li Su asked angrily.
"Why shouldn't you go back? If you don't go back, it will be as if we lost to them. Young miss, let's go back! If nothing else, it will be to let our young master shine! Who is Mingzhu? She is dirt, and everyone will be able to see it at a glance," Cuizhu said quickly.
"Whether we are good or bad, what does it have to do with them? We don't live for their amusem*nt! It's better to have less than one more thing! Let's just live our lives with peace of mind," Lüzhu said.
Li Su nodded. "Lüzhu is right. My Immortal Stays is the best! He is also the best without them saying so. Instead of talking to them, let's live our own lives in peace. Cuizhu, you should know that, if the gap between people is small, some people will naturally be jealous and disdainful. But if it is a huge difference, then there is only admiration left. What we need to do now is not to compete with them for this moment, but to continue to widen the gap between us! Understand?"
Cuizhu nodded in understanding. "I will listen to the young miss and do what the young miss says!"
"Jinzhu, spread the word. In addition to the white jade candy, the fruit candy and nougat can also be sold." Li Su smiled.
In the past ten years, she had not done anything. She could do a lot, but she was afraid that if she did too many big things, people would suspect things. So, she only concentrated on making candy for the people below. White jade candy was made five years ago, but she did not sell a lot at that time. She only let people continue to develop fruit candy and milk candy.
It was not until half a year ago that Li Su started mass production and prepared to sell it to the outside world. Next year would be the 40th birthday of the emperor and she was going to present the recipe of white jade candy as a birthday gift. As for the production of white jade candy, she planned to return it to the Liu family's sugar workshop.
It could only be said that Liu Qingwu forced her hand.
In fact, second older brother, Liu Qingtong, reminded her that the letter came earlier than sister-in-law's letter. Therefore, Li Su returned the favour and gave Liu Qingtong the recipe for the white jade candy. He then made the decision to dedicate it to the emperor. As for what method Liu Qingtong used, and who the credit went to in the end, Li Su didn't care.
In fact, when Liu Qingwu was partial to the concubine illegitimate daughter, Liu Qingtong had a daughter who was a crown princess consort, the situation of the Liu family changed. The authority in the Liu family had quietly changed hands. It was just that Liu Qingwu didn't know it yet.
Immortal Stays was not surprised by Li Su's decision not to go to Jade City. He was even a little happy. Mother's life and death calamity was in the south, and Jade City was south of Qingyuan Mountain. Mother decided not to go to Jade City, which was good.
After Liu Qingwu received the letter, he was angry, and immediately wrote a letter to sever their relationship. He was about to send it out, but stopped. He was a little hesitant. Once this letter was sent, his relationship with Qingyun would be…
Only by making good friends with Qingyun could the Liu family's sugar factory come back to life and for everything he planned to come true.
He recently bought a dowry for Mingzhu, but Mrs. Liu-Xie monopolised the money. She was only willing to spend 3,000 taels to buy the dowry, which was according to the rules of a concubine. She refused to give any money. As for the family's property, as early as when the seventh young master got married, he decided to split it. Most of his own private houses were subsidised.
Everything was completely different from what he expected! Originally, Liu Qingwu wanted to take the 10% dividend from the sugar mill as a dowry to Mingzhu, but Mrs. Liu-Xie and several sons also disagreed.
Besides, the sugar mill didn't make much money now. With the appearance of white jade candy, who would buy snowflake candy?! The sugar mill tried lowering prices, but with little success. If it went down any further, the cost would not be recovered. They could only give up.
Liu Qingwu was in a hurry. Liu Yuanchen had the intention to use his property as a dowry for his younger sister, but Mrs. Yan remained silent and returned to her parents' house with a few children.
They were both of equal importance, and Liu Qingwu was also unwilling to cause his son's family to suffer for the sake of his daughter.
But Liu Mingzhu didn't know anything. She acted like a spoiled child in front of Liu Qingwu, clamouring for many things. She said that her dowry should not be less than her cousin's, or people would look down on her.
When Liu Qingwu faced his beloved daughter's coquettish behavior, he naturally responded to everything. However, when he sent away his beloved daughter, he began to worry again.
Thinking of this, Liu Qingwu had no choice but to lower his stance. He tore up the letter and re-wrote it.
When Li Su received Liu Qingwu's letter, she put it aside. Without even looking, she could already guess what was written in the letter. She was not in the mood to care about Liu Qingwu and Liu Mingzhu. She still had a lot of things to do.
In fact, in the past ten years, Li Su had been doing good deeds in Immortal Stays' name. She built bridges and paved roads all over the country. She built charitable halls, supported orphans, and many other things, thus accumulating merit for Immortal Stays.
She vaguely remembered what she had seen before. If she accumulated merit to a certain extent, she could also become an immortal! Although the book she read didn't seem to be a cultivation text, the methods there might not be successful, but it was always right to do more good deeds.
As a mother, she couldn't help her son. She could only do this. Hopefully it was of some use!
Chapter 268 – Raising A Son In The Cultivation World (part 20)
Immortal Stays didn't know what his mother had done for him secretly until one night, while he was meditating, a figure suddenly appeared in his consciousness.
He was so shocked that he almost went crazy. After all, someone who could break into his consciousness without him knowing meant that they could easily destroy his consciousness.
When the other party saw that he almost went into trouble, he quickly helped him stabilise his consciousness.
Immortal Stays also recognised the other party at this time. He was the immortal who was at the foot of Mount Tai that day and wanted to accept him as a disciple. Immortal Stays immediately leaned over and wanted to worship the immortal, but he did not dare to call him master.
The old man smiled slightly. "Although you and I don't have an official relationship of a master and an apprentice, but we are still fundamentally master and apprentice. This old man can still be your master."
Liu Xian was overjoyed upon knowing that the immortal recognised him. He quickly knelt down again, called him master, and bowed three times.
It turned out that the old man didn't think about it after he taught him the immortal cultivation technique. After all, the master showed him the door and practicing was on him. They did not have the fate of a master and an apprentice. The master just passed by Mount Tai by chance a few days ago, and he remembered what happened back then. Then he calculated, wanting to see what the child looked like now, whether he continued to practice and if so, to what extent he had practiced.
But the result surprised the old man. It turned out that, with his own efforts, he had successfully entered the foundation-building stage! With this speed and aptitude, ordinary outer disciples couldn't compare!
The old man calculated again, and then he understood the reason. Liu Xian cultivated so diligently, in addition to his own efforts and talents, his mother also silently did a lot for him, doing good deeds and accumulating a lot of merit. These merits turned into spiritual power to surround him, so he progressed so fast.
The old man was overwhelmed with emotion, and he felt cherished for a while. He appeared in Immortal Stays' consciousness and wanted to give him some pointers.
After listening to the master's words, Immortal Stays felt both moved and guilty. He was moved by what his mother had done for him, and felt guilty that as her son, he couldn't be filial to his mother. Instead his mother had to plan for herself.
Seeing him like this, the old man smiled and said, "Parents love their children, and most of them ask for something, like making them famous, honouring their ancestors, or passing on their lineage and having multiple children. Your mother loves you very much and asks for nothing else. Don't let your mother down."
But Immortal Stays was a little distressed. "Master, if my mother treats me like this, then what can I do for her?"
The old man smiled. "You should ask yourself this question."
After that, the old man said that on the fifteenth day of every month, he would fall into a dream and guide him. Immortal Stays was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.
After waking up, Immortal Stays walked out of the secluded residence and went to Content Residence where Li Su and others lived at the foot of the mountain.
Li Su and Jinzhu were reading the ledger under the lamp. Cuizhu was impatient, so she set up a barbecue in the courtyard outside and started to cook.
Li Su smelled the fragrance in the air. "It would be great if there was beer at this time!" Beer grilled crayfish on skewers was the standard for food stalls!
"Young miss, what is beer? How does it taste? How do you make it? You can probably tell me a recipe and I can ask someone to make it for you," Lüzhu said seriously.
How did one make the beer? Li Su vaguely remembered that the raw material required to make beer seemed to be malt. As for how to make it, she really didn't know.
"Forget it, I just said it casually." Li Su said with a smile, not wanting to bother with that.
But Lüzhu and Jinzhu took Li Su's words seriously. If the young miss liked it, they must find it for the young miss. Tomorrow, they would head out and see. Whoever made the beer the young miss mentioned would be rewarded!
Li Su suddenly saw Immortal Stays standing by the window. She was a little surprised. She put down the ledger in her hand and stood up. "Immortal Stays, why are you here? Did something happen?"
Jinzhu packed up the account books and went out when she saw this. She also took Cuizhu with her, who was busy in front of the barbecue. Cuizhu looked at the mutton skewers that were not cooked yet and felt a little regretful. Just as she was about to speak, Hongzhu covered her mouth and dragged away.
"Mother, what do you want?" Immortal Stays asked. "Or, mother, what do you want me to do?"
Li Su smiled. "Mother doesn't need you to do anything. You just need to be happy and do what you want to do. You can go all out to pursue your dreams and mother will do her best for you. Mother will help you with your dreams!"
Immortal Stays was moved. "But mother, it's not fair to you! You must have something you really want to do."
"What mother always wanted to do is to be a good mother. Mother wants her children to grow up happy and carefree, and grow into a kind and upright person." Li Su touched Immortal Stays' head. Immortal Stays had grown taller again and now she had to tiptoe to touch his head.
"So, Immortal Stays, don't have any psychological burdens. Go all out to pursue your dreams and don't worry about mother. Mother is not as pitiful and helpless as you think." It so happened that Li Su smelled roasted meat, so she smiled. "Everyone pursues different things. In order to cultivate, you can fast. Your mother can't do that. Your mother likes fancy clothes and delicious food. Where's the fun in being an immortal?"
This was the first time that Li Su told Immortal Stays that she has no interest in cultivating and becoming an immortal. She knew that Immortal Stays had always had this thought, hoping that he could find a way to prolong her life. Li Su didn't want him to be obsessed with it, so she simply expressed her attitude to him directly.
"Mother, are you happy now?" Immortal Stays asked. Immortal Stays understood what his mother meant, but he needed time to think about it.
Li Su smiled and said, "Of course I'm happy! Can't you feel that mother is really happy? There are so many people around mother and you are a good son. Mother is very happy every day. So, Immortal Stays, mother doesn't want to be a burden to you. Go and pursue your dreams! Mother will always be here. You just need to turn back and you will be able to see mother!"
Immortal Stays' eyes were a little red. "Mother, thank you!" He was lucky to be her child in this life! Let him be selfish once in his life and let him pursue his dreams. In the next life, he hoped to be able to shelter his mother from the wind and rain.
Immortal Stays had defeated his inner demons. He also had the guidance of his master, plus the merits that Li Su had continuously accumulated for him. The speed of his cultivation had improved by leaps and bounds.
On the other side, Liu Qingwu wrote several letters one after another, asking Li Su and Immortal Stays to return to Jade City so they could talk in person.
But up until his birthday, Li Su and Immortal Stays did not appear.
Yuan Dao was very disappointed. He thought that he could use Yuan Ye and Liu Mingzhu's marriage to repair the relationship with the Liu family and Qingyun. He didn't expect that he would be disappointed.
Yuan Ye was relieved. If Liu Qingyun and Immortal Stays came, he would be the most embarrassed one in the audience. Since they weren't here, it was great.
At Liu Qingwu's birthday banquet, Yuan Ye acted as a filial son-in-law. Liu Qingwu felt a lot of comfort when he saw Yuan Ye like this.
Three months later, Liu Mingzhu was to be married. Liu Qingwu had racked his brains to collect 86 dowries for Liu Mingzhu. Compared to ordinary people, this dowry was already very rich. However, when Liu Mingzhu saw the dowry list, she was very unhappy. She covered her face and cried non-stop, arguing and refusing to get on the sedan chair!
Liu Qingwu was a little embarrassed, and Liu Yuanchen was also very embarrassed. "Mingzhu, don't cry. Father…"
"Why? When Sister Baozhu got married, she had one hundred and twenty-eight dowries. Third uncle, fourth uncle, and aunt helped with the make-up. However, when it is my turn, it is less than half! Aunt didn't even do makeup for me! In addition to the jewellery shop, she also gave older sister Baozhu a ten percent bonus from Yunfang! We are both aunt's nieces, why does aunt favour the other one more?! Why?!" Liu Mingzhu even cried with her makeup on.
"Why? Baozhu married the crown prince of a country, but you are going to marry the son of the Yuan family!" Seeing that there was no movement for a long time, Mrs. Liu-Xie had come over to take a look, just in time to hear Liu Mingzhu's words. "It seems that your father and your older brother didn't tell you about the grudge between your aunt and the Yuan family! Then I'll tell you!"
Liu Mingzhu raised her head and said, "Who said I didn't know? Yuan Ye told me all about the past. But these are all grudges from the past life, and what does it have to do with us? It is between auntie and father-in-law. Why should aunt hate us?! She is an elder and should care about the younger generation. Isn't she embarrassed?"
Mrs. Liu-Xie laughed in anger. "I thought you were an ignorant girl who only knew about love, but I didn't expect you to know everything. Yet, you still insisted on marrying Yuan Ye and even said such shameless words! Hmph, the Yuan family's sedan chair has already arrived at the door. If you want to marry, you can marry. If you don't want to, then forget it!"
After speaking, Mrs. Liu-Xie walked away. Liu Qingtong's wife and several sisters-in-law gave Liu Mingzhu pitying looks, then turned and left.
After a while, the people were gone. Only Liu Yuanchen's wife, Mrs. Yan was still busy outside. Seeing that there was no movement there, she was extremely anxious. "What the hell is going on? Is the marriage still possible today? Mother, several aunts and sisters-in-law are all gone, and the sedan chair of the Yuan family is still waiting at the door!"
Liu Qingwu was afraid of making a joke, so he coaxed Liu Mingzhu, saying that he would find a way to compensate Liu Mingzhu in the future.
Only then did Liu Mingzhu hold back her tears, and got on the sedan chair, aggrieved.
The Yuan family still attached great importance to this marriage. After all, the Liu family had a crown princess consort, and the Liu family made a lot of money because of the sugar factory. The Yuan family had gradually shown a decline in recent years. Although they looked fine from the outside, they had fallen inside. They urgently needed the generous dowry brought in by the Liu family daughter to improve the situation in the house.
But when the dowry and the bride came in, the faces of the Yuan family changed, especially Yuan Dao and Yuan Ye.
Wasn't Liu Mingzhu Liu Qingwu's most beloved daughter? How could there be so little? Yuan Dao muttered in his heart. When Qingyun married into his family, there were more than one hundred and twenty dowries. Even after they were married, the Liu family also sent a lot of things. Although Liu Mingzhu's dowry was quite large, it was a lot less than Qingyun's!
Yuan Ye was also a little unhappy in his heart, but after thinking about it, maybe this was just the dowry on the surface. There must be a lot of subsidies that they would give in private. His mother was not in good health and needed tonic. He did not have a lot of money, so he couldn't provide his mother with daily tonics. He had to talk to Mingzhu later to be very filial to his mother. He also had to remind Mingzhu that she must not take the housekeeping power.
Over the years, he had watched from the sidelines. The family was not as good as before, but their expenses were the same as before. They couldn't make ends meet, so he had to sell property. Mrs. Li had held the housekeeping power. Last year, when Yuan Shou got married, Mrs. Li claimed that Yuan Shou was not the eldest legitimate son, so his wife could not hold the housekeeping power. She insisted on handing over the housekeeping power to Yuan Ye's future wife.
Yuan Dao and Mother Yuan also praised Mrs. Li for understanding the rules, but Yuan Ye knew that she just wanted to make a fool of him!
Chapter 269 – Raising A Son In The Cultivation World (final)
That night, after the two shared their emotions, they were on the bed. Yuan Ye told Liu Mingzhu everything about the situation at home. There was only one central idea, filial piety to his mother and love his eldest sister. She didn't have to care about the rest.
These words were very in line with Liu Mingzhu's thoughts. If she could remove the filial piety towards the mother, Liu Mingzhu would be even happier. She was a precious jade. Why should she come to the Yuan family to suffer?
On the second day, after paying respects to their elders, Mrs. Li took out all the ledgers, matching cards, keys, and other things in the house in front of Mother Yuan and Yuan Dao. She wanted Liu Mingzhu to take over the household affairs.
Liu Mingzhu smiled and said, "The bride just married into the house. Eldest sister should continue to manage the household affairs since she has been doing so for a long time. Besides, I am young and new here, and I didn't learn these things when I was at home. I can't do it."
Mrs. Li said, "You are the eldest daughter-in-law, so you should manage the household affairs."
Liu Mingzhu asked deliberately, "Why do you say this? Isn't eldest brother also a legitimate son? Isn't my husband the second young master in the house?"
Yuan Dao and the others looked a little embarrassed. Yuan Dao saw that Liu Mingzhu refused to take over managing the household affairs. Not only was he not angry, but he felt that she knew the rules and etiquette. "Since Mrs. Liu said so, then you can still take care of it. After a while, when Mrs. Liu is familiar with the situation in the mansion, we can talk about it again!"
Seeing this, Mrs. Li could only continue to look after the household affairs. It was just that, every time they saw Liu Mingzhu living a luxurious life and they had to live a miserable life with just monthly interest and silver, it was inevitable that they would feel resentful and whisper a few words to Yuan Dao behind her back.
Yuan Dao was also a little unhappy in his heart, but as a father-in-law, how could he be so shameless as to ask his daughter-in-law for something? In fact, if Mrs. Liu was a sensible person, she should take the initiative to offer without him opening his mouth. However, Mrs. Liu just pretended to be stupid and Yuan Ye also pretended to be stupid. It was detestable!
Therefore, in the face of Mrs. Li's instigation, Yuan Dao treated her coldly. He turned around and went to the study in front. He cherished his life more now, unlike when he was young, when he indulged in beauties.
Liu Mingzhu's married life was actually quite good. Yuan Ye was gentle, considerate, and kind to her. After all, her great mother-in-law was separated by one floor and could not control her. The great mother-in-law was now busy looking for a mother-in-law for her eldest sister-in-law. Her great mother-in-law rarely interfered with her affairs. Although her mother-in-law was eccentric, she was not in good health. Most of the time she was lying in bed, unable to move. On the other hand, the eldest sister-in-law was really annoying. She thought that she was an outstanding beauty, so she could be picky. She wasted her time and was still not betrothed. As soon as she entered her room, she glanced around. When she saw something good, she would hint that she wanted it.
That was Mrs. Li and the eldest daughter-in-law.
Liu Mingzhu was too lazy to pay attention to her! No matter what they said, she just pretended to be stupid and didn't understand.
Yuan Ye seemed to have some opinions. His original intention was to ignore the unreasonable demands of the other people in his family, but he couldn't ignore mother and eldest sister. They were family after all. Wasn't it a bit too much for Mingzhu to be like this?
But he was embarrassed to tell Mingzhu this. After all, Mingzhu was still very generous to him. No matter how precious the pens, ink, paper, inkstones, ancient calligraphy, and paintings were, as long as he wanted it, she would buy it for him. He was not famous yet, and it was not easy to ask too much. When he takes the imperial examination this year and gains a reputation, he could talk about it at that time.
Now, he could only let his mother and eldest sister be aggrieved.
It didn't take long for Yuan Lan's marriage to finally be settled. She was to be Prince Yong's side concubine. This was already the best marriage that the Yuan family could find for Yuan Lan. It was said that it was because of the Liu family that this marriage could be accomplished.
Yuan Lan was also very satisfied. Although Prince Yong was a little older, there were great benefits to marrying him. He knew how to take care of people. Besides, it was a prince's manor! As long as she could give birth to a boy, she would be well taken-care of for the rest of her life!
But, when preparing for the dowry, there were difficulties. The Yuan family had been unable to make ends meet over the years, and there was another young master who had not married yet, so the dowry that she could have was limited.
This dowry was not only unsatisfactory for Yuan Lan herself, but even Yuan Dao didn't like it. It was too simple.
Facing Yuan Dao's accusation, Mrs. Li looked innocent. She took out the ledger and put it in front of Yuan Dao. After seeing it, Yuan Dao had nothing to say.
Yuan Ye looked at the ledger, but there was nothing he could do. The family really couldn't get more money. In desperation, Yuan Ye tentatively said something to Liu Mingzhu.
Liu Mingzhu didn't say a word. She summoned someone to take her back to Liu family's house. Yuan Ye hurried to stop her. Liu Mingzhu said angrily, "I shouldn't have to tell you this. My dad will come to the house and tell father clearly. How can my Liu family buy a dowry for your Yuan family's daughter?"
Yuan Ye looked disappointed. "When did I ask the Liu family to pay for the dowry? I just asked you to take out a little bit to show some of our husband and wife's feelings. She is my eldest sister and she will be marrying into a prince's manor. Her dowry is too simple. How will eldest sister handle herself in the manor in the future? Why are you so ruthless?"
Liu Mingzhu sneered and said, "I have all the dowry. Today your eldest sister gets married and you want me to fill her dowry with mine. Tomorrow, if something happens to your Yuan family, do you want me to fix it with my dowry? Even if my father gave me a golden mountain to accompany me, he would not be able to withstand such consumption! Besides, I don't have a golden mountain as a dowry!" Liu Mingzhu was also very aggrieved. If she was still in the Liu family, she naturally wouldn't have to care so much. But now, she was no longer the daughter of the Liu family, but a wife of the Yuan family. Besides, her dowry was only so much. The Liu family's sugar mill was the same as before. Her father gave her 10% of the dividends as a dowry. How could she care so much?
But now, how was it? Father promised not to use her dowry. Since she got married, all the expenses of this place was hers. She didn't know it at first, but it was the nurse who reminded her that the 5,000 taels from her dowry that she had brought with her had already mostly been spent within the first half of the year living with the Yuan family!
She asked around carefully. She found out that the cost of her mother-in-law's daily ginseng and cinnamon tonic was actually taken from her account.
Although Liu Mingzhu had been spoiled since childhood, she was not completely ignorant of world affairs. She was just used to being self-centered. She didn't care about other things and she didn't want to care. It wasn't that she didn't know anything or didn't understand anything.
She knew it would be bad if it went on like this.
Yuan Ye blindly asked her to be filial to her mother-in-law and to love his eldest sister. Liu Mingzhu was not so stupid!
Yuan Ye was extremely disappointed. He didn't expect Liu Mingzhu to be such a worldly woman. He felt that the wife in front of him had become so unfamiliar.
Liu Mingzhu also saw the disappointment in Yuan Ye's eyes, but the disappointment in her heart was deeper. She also didn't understand how Yuan Ye had the name of a prodigy when he was young. How could he not even have a scholarly rank after so many years?! There was no distinction between the Yuan family's legitimate and illegitimate children, and hierarchy was unknown. She could endure all these. But she couldn't put up with the calculations from the person next to her in bed.
The Yuan family did not distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate children. Liu Mingzhu insisted on returning to the Liu family and argued for divorce. Liu Qingwu was very angry. At first, she was crying and arguing about marrying Yuan Ye. For this reason, he did not hesitate to offend his younger sister and brothers. Now she wanted to divorce! Did she consider her marriage some sort of child's play?
Liu Yuanchen hesitated, but Mrs. Yan did not agree with Liu Mingzhu's divorce. Aunt divorced because she had property and the ability to support herself.
What was wrong with Liu Mingzhu?! Don't think she didn't know! She had already sent someone to inquire about the situation. Liu Mingzhu's dowry had almost been used up. This was because the in-law's family couldn't support her. She just wanted to leave so that her parents could continue to support her! She sure had such beautiful thoughts!
Mrs. Yan was forced and Liu Yuanchen looked at the children and hesitated. Younger sister was important, but the children were also his flesh and blood.
Mrs. Liu-Xie said that if Liu Qingwu promised Liu Mingzhu and Mrs. Li, then they would split up! She didn't want Liu Mingzhu to be a burden on her sons!
At this time, Liu Mingzhu found out that she was pregnant. Yuan Ye came to pick her up after learning the news, and Liu Qingwu secretly gave Liu Mingzhu a thousand silver taels. The matter of divorce was abandoned.
However, this time, in the end, there was a rift between Yuan Ye and Liu Mingzhu. After the two went back, although on the surface they were still the same as before, they both knew in their hearts that they would not be able to go back.
Liu Mingzhu kept tight control of her dowry, and Yuan Ye devoted himself to studying hard. He wanted to gain a scholarly rank as soon as possible, so as to make a name for himself and to help his current predicament.
In fact, he had long wanted to take the imperial examination. The gentlemen who had taught him said that with his ability, as long as he participated in the imperial examination, it would not be a problem for him to be in the top three. But it was also strange that every time, at the last moment, something happened in the city, which made him unable to enter the venue. Because of this, he was very distressed. His mother burned incense and worshipped Buddha all year round, but unfortunately it was useless. On the contrary, because of what happened to him, even his maternal family were questioned. After all, if the Su family was really blessed by gods, why was he so unlucky?
Hopefully this year would be different!
In West Garden, Su Wanrong was leaning on the bed with a sick face, holding a string of Buddha beads that were said to have been opened by an eminent monk. "Ru'er, bless your younger brother to enter the venue smoothly this time. Then, he can gain a rank! Ru'er, bless your younger brother…"
After Yuan Lan heard this, a trace of jealousy flashed in her eyes. Younger brother, younger brother… Mother only cared about her brother and her mother never thought about her at all. She was even about to marry into the Prince Yong's Mansion, but the dowry…
"Mother!" Yuan Lan called softly.
Su Wanrong didn't even open her eyes. She continued to recite in a low voice, "Ru'er, bless your younger brother with smooth sailing to get a scholarly rank."
"Mother, do you only care about younger brother? Have you ever thought about your daughter?" Yuan Lan couldn't help but say. The mothers of other families began preparing dowries for their daughters when they were young, but what about her mother?
"Why don't you understand? Only if your younger brother is good can you be good!" Su Wanrong opened her tired eyes, her face full of disappointment. "I've been sick all these years and I can't take care of A-Ye, but what about you, the older sister? Have you ever taken care of him? Every time A-Ye is about to take the imperial examination these years, there will be a problem. Have you ever thought about why?"
"That's his bad luck! What can I do?" Yuan Lan said with tears in her eyes. She thought that Yuan Ye could stand out in order to support herself, but he was unlucky. What could she do?
Su Wanrong didn't want to talk to her any more. Back then, she also thought about preparing a generous dowry for her daughter, but unfortunately, Mrs. Liu divorced before she could do it. With what happened later, she had no time to take care of herself. How could she have that kind of mindset?
She also understood that this daughter was raised in vain. She couldn't count on her. If she had time to talk nonsense with her, it was better to talk to Yuan Ru. If Yuan Ru could appear, she wouldn't have to worry about anything.
Seeing her like this, Yuan Lan knew that she could not count on her. Since this was the case, then her mother better not come and beg her when she became prosperous in the future!
Yuan Lan married out with a simple dowry. Since then, there had been no news.
Yuan Ye was preparing for this year's imperial examinations with high hopes. He was cautious and did not even take a step out of the door. He didn't expect that, when the time finally came, there was still a problem.
He didn't know what happened that day. When he was queuing up at the entrance of the examination room for the exam and was about to enter, Yuan Ye suddenly lost his footing and fell down the stairs. His head was bleeding and he was carried back to the Yuan Manor.
Yuan Dao was disheartened when he saw this again. Mrs. Li was also amazed. If she hadn't seen it, then she wouldn't even believe it herself. This time it was at the entrance of the exam room!
This was probably life! This was the real thought in everyone's heart when they learned that Yuan Ye had suffered.
As for Su Wanrong… After learning that her son fell at the entrance of the examination room, injured his head and was unable to take the exam again, she spit out a mouthful of blood and finally closed her eyes in despair.
And all the way until Su Wanrong died of anger, the daughter she looked forward to day and night did not appear.
After Yuan Ye woke up and faced such a result, he was completely disheartened and became extremely dejected.
When Liu Mingzhu saw him like this, she was very disgusted. Looking at the current situation of the Yuan family, Liu Mingzhu thoughts on divorce became stronger. She did not want to continue to waste her youth in the Yuan family. Wasn't it just a divorce? After her aunt divorced, she lived a casual and comfortable life, and she could do it too.
However, when she touched her slightly bulging belly, there was a hint of hesitation in her eyes.
But it didn't take long for this hesitation to be replaced by a firm resolve.
A few days later, Liu Qingwu suddenly received news that Liu Mingzhu was dying, and told him to hurry over.
Liu Qingwu was taken aback. His good daughter who married into the Yuan family would die soon. He and Liu Yuanchen hurried to the Yuan family. They smelled blood before entering the door.
Yuan Dao stood outside the courtyard with an expressionless face and told Liu Qingwu the details.
Only then did Liu Qingwu learn that Liu Mingzhu wanted to abort the pregnancy. She mistakenly believed in a quack doctor and took a tiger and wolf medicine and ended up bleeding continuously.
They invited a doctor to see her, but the bleeding wouldn't stop.
When Liu Qingwu heard this, he immediately fainted.
Liu Yuanchen quickly supported Liu Qingwu, and clamoured for the doctor to come over for treatment. He was worried about his younger sister and his old father, so he was exhausted and incompetent.
After the doctor gave Liu Qingwu a few injections, Liu Qingwu slowly woke up. However, his eyes were crooked and he couldn't move half his body.
The doctor said that this was a sign of a stroke and they had no choice but to go back and ask a famous doctor to take good care of him. Maybe then he could recover.
Liu Yuanchen had no choice. He quickly escorted his father back to Liu family's house, and then he went back to the Yuan family. But, as soon as he entered the door, he heard the mansion crying loudly, heartbroken.
Liu Yuanchen couldn't take the blow and fainted.
The Yuan family was afraid that Liu Yuanchen would have a stroke, so they quickly sent him back to the Liu family.
The facts of the matter were very clear. It was Liu Mingzhu who killed herself and it had nothing to do with the Yuan family. Although Liu Qingwu was sad and angry, and he wanted to settle accounts with the Yuan family, he himself could not move now. The servants were very attentive, but no one listened to his words.
Liu Yuanchen also wanted to stand up for his younger sister, but without the support of his father, his words were worth nothing at all.
The Liu and Yuan families reached a tacit agreement. The Liu family brought back Liu Mingzhu's body and dowry, buried Liu Mingzhu, and no longer pursued this matter.
Only Yuan Ye, who had endured repeated blows, shut himself inside silently. A few days later, the servants knocked on the door, but there was no one inside.
The Yuan family sent people to look around, but they could not find Yuan Ye.
In the end, the Yuan family was handed over to Yuan Shou, who was Mrs. Li's child. But, Mrs. Li and Yuan Shou felt it was not a good thing. The Yuan family now had nothing. There was Mother Yuan, who was senile and old; she thought that the Yuan family was still held the status of its previous glory. Then, there was Yuan Dao, who was becoming increasingly more eccentric and paid great attention to preserving his health.
Mrs. Li and Yuan Shou looked at each other and saw despair in each other's eyes.
Not long after Liu Mingzhu died, Liu Qingwu was dying. He kept looking outside the door. Mrs. Liu-Xie knew what he wanted, sighed, and sent a letter to Li Su.
After receiving the letter, Li Su was speechless. After thinking about it, she decided to see Liu Qingwu one last time. She just didn't know if she could make it in time if she hurried back now.
After Immortal Stays learned about this matter, he said, "Mother, I have a way to travel thousands of miles in one day. Just close your eyes and don't open them. Only open your eyes when your son says you can open them." Under the guidance of his master, he had already learned the art of riding a sword, just in time for him to use it.
Li Su nodded repeatedly. "Okay! I will cover my eyes with gauze!" Li Su thought it was an immortal art that could not be known to outsiders. In fact, Immortal Stays was just afraid that she would be frightened if she opened her eyes suddenly.
Immortal Stays nodded.
Li Su then explained things to Jinzhu and the others. Immortal Stays covered Li Su's eyes with a gauze, summoned the blue-green sword given to him by his master, floated it in the air, and then supported Li Su while jumping up. They stood on the flying sword.
This was the first time that Jinzhu and the others saw the abilities of their young master, and their eyes widened with excitement. Only then did they believe that their young master was probably really an immortal.
It took one night for Li Su and Immortal Stays to arrive at Jade City. Afraid of causing a stir, Immortal Stays quietly landed where no one else was and then took back the sword.
Then, the mother and son went to Liu family's house.
When Liu Qingwu saw Li Su and her son arrive, his eyes widened. Ten years later, Qingyun's appearance had not changed at all, and neither had Immortal Stays! What was a pearl and what was rubbish was something he only understood when he saw it today. If Mingzhu had met Immortal Stays earlier, she probably would not have insisted on marrying Yuan Ye, and she would not have died prematurely.
He regretted it so much!
Liu Qingwu pointed at Liu Yuanchen with trembling fingers, and then pointed at Li Su, intending to entrust Liu Yuanchen to Li Su's care.
Li Su just pretended not to see that. She had no choice but to comfort Liu Qingwu to recover from his illness.
Liu Qingwu let out a cry from his throat, and motioned Liu Yuanchen to come forward with his eyes.
Liu Yuanchen was a little embarrassed in front of his father's official wife and his elder brother, and he didn't think that his aunt had to look after him, so he refused to go forward.
Liu Qingwu looked at Liu Yuanchen, frustrated at the fact that Liu Yuanchen failed to meet his expectations.
Li Su saw that he still wanted to plot against her and was a little speechless. Could it be that his illegitimate sons and daughters were to be her responsibility?
Mrs. Liu-Xie looked at Li Su apologetically. "Younger sister!" Your older brother is confused. Don't mind him.
Li Su smiled back.
In the end, Liu Qingwu did not wait for Li Su's guarantee. He could only leave the world with thoughts of his daughter and worries about his son.
Li Su waited until Liu Qingwu's funeral was over before leaving Jade City.
The day when she was about to leave Jade City, Yuan Dao suddenly appeared. "Qingyun, don't go! We have missed so many years. Now we are old, don't…" The last two words Yuan Dao wanted to say remained unsaid after he saw Li Su's appearance.
Ten years later, he was already old, but the other party was still so young and beautiful.
Li Su glanced at him blankly and said to Immortal Stays, "Ignore him. Let's go!"
Originally, the mother and son planned to go out of the city by carriage first, and then after they left the city, use the sword technique to finish the journey. But, after seeing Yuan Dao, Immortal Stays changed his mind.
In front of everyone's eyes, Immortal Stays summoned the blue-green sword directly from his sleeve, then took Li Su's hand and jumped on it. The mother and son disappeared in front of everyone's eyes.
Everyone was shocked by this scene, and it took a long time for them to react. By the time they reacted, they were long gone.
Yuan Dao's insides ached in regret. If he had known that Immortal Stays would become an immortal, he would not have gotten Su Wanrong as his equal wife in the first place! He really regretted it!
Immortal Stays was paying attention to his mother's reaction. He didn't expect that Li Su was not afraid when standing on the flying sword, but instead was very excited.
Li Su was overjoyed. She finally experienced the feeling of flying in her life. It was so exciting.
When Immortal Stays saw this, he also smiled.
The mother and son returned to the mountain and resumed their old life. Immortal Stays focussed on cultivation. Li Su expanded her business territory while doing good deeds and accumulating merit for her son.
Perhaps it was because she did a lot of good deeds that, not only did she accumulate merit for her son, but Li Su herself also benefitted a lot. It was not until the age of ninety-nine that she died in the company of Immortal Stays. Before she died, Li Su left a will. All her property would be donated in Immortal Stays' name.
Immortal Stays' cultivation base was already at the Golden Core Stage. Originally, he could break through to the Nascent Soul Stage very quickly, but once he broke through the Nascent Soul Stage, he could no longer stay in the mortal world. So, for so many years, in order to accompany his mother, he had been suppressing his cultivation and refused to break through.
After burying his mother, under the blessing of great merit, Immortal Stays finally succeeded in breaking through and entered the Nascent Soul stage. Under the gaze of everyone, he bowed and soared through the clouds, leaving the mortal world.
Chapter 270 – My Son Has Facial Paralysis (part 1)
Li Su sat on the edge of the bed with an expressionless face.
Today was her wedding night, but the groom was nowhere to be seen. At this time, he was probably having a private meeting with his widowed sister-in-law!
Without saying a word, Li Su lifted her veil and strode out of the new house. Wen Yu and Wen Mo, her dowry maids, quickly followed. When the maids in the Jiang residence saw her coming out, they were shocked. "Young Mistress, the veil hasn't been lifted yet. How can you walk around at will? This is against the rules."
Li Su smiled sweetly. "Just now my mother gave me a vision and told me that there is something fun to watch today. Let's go, I'll take you to see it together!"
Then, she walked straight ahead. Wen Yu gave Wen Mo a look before they followed.
The maids of the Jiang family, looked at each other. They then ordered someone to tell the madam and old madam before they also followed.
This was the first time Li Su had come to Jiang family's house. She was not very familiar with the mansion. She only knew that Jiang Hewen and his sister-in-law were having a private meeting in Snowfall Pavillion at this time, but she didn't know where Snowfall Pavillion was.
When she left room in the new house, Li Su didn't know where to go.
Wen Yu stepped forward. "Young miss, where are you going?"
"Where is Snowfall Pavillion?" Li Su asked. She remembered that Wen Yu and Wen Mo had travelled to the Jiang mansion many times before they got married. Maybe they knew.
"Young miss, this way." Wen Yu really knew where it was.
Li Su took a mighty crowd to Snowfall Pavillion.
Inside the Snowfall Pavillion, Jiang Hewen and Su Ruxue were entangled. They were inseparable and their clothes were dishevelled. Suddenly the door was kicked open from the outside. Li Su brought someone in.
When Li Su's people saw this scene, they trembled with anger. Wen Yu quickly covered Li Su's eyes. "Young miss, don't watch such a filthy scene. Don't get your eyes dirty!"
But Li Su pushed Wen Yu's hand away. "How can I not look at it? If I don't look clearly, wouldn't I be a fool until I die?"
Wasn't the original owner a fool until death? She didn't even know why she didn't have a child, and she also implicated her adopted son. In order to avenge her, he lost his life in vain! All her life, she had been making wedding dresses for others! Stupid!
At this time, the servants of the Jiang family also saw this scene. Their eyes widened in shock. "Third young master! Second young mistress! You are…"
Uncle*sister-in-law* adultery! This was big news!
"Quick, quick! Go tell the old lady! Go quickly!"
Jiang Hewen's eyes widened. He didn't forget to dress Su Ruxue. What the hell was going on?! How could she bring people here?! Snowfall Pavillion was where eldest sister lived during her lifetime. After eldest sister hanged herself because of her love, it became haunted. Few people came here. He and Ruxue have been meeting privately for three years here and no one had ever found out. Why was it now that people had found out?
Li Su stood up awe-inspiringly. "Jiang Hewen! The marriage contract between you and me was made by my parents. When my parents passed away, I had to observe filial piety for three years. I once said that I didn't want you to waste my youth, so the marriage contract was abandoned. But you, before my parents, said that you would wait for me for three years, and the marriage contract would not change! I was very grateful. But you should never have humiliated me on our wedding night! Humiliate the Li family! My parents died in battle. How tragic to have you humiliate me!"
Then, without waiting for Jiang Hewen to explain, she said loudly, "Everyone has seen what happened today. It was Jiang Hewen who made a mistake first. The marriage contract is over! Let's go!"
"County Princess, wait!" Said Mrs. Jiang-Wang, the eldest madam of the Jiang family who came over in a hurry. She glared at Jiang Hewen, and then looked at Su Ruxue with a poisonous expression.
Su Ruxue had calmed down from her panicked state at this time. She knew that she was now dead, and neither the madam nor the Jiang family would let her go.
Su Ruxue's face was as white as paper, and she began to regret it. She regretted that she should not fight for the length of time. She regretted meeting Hewen tonight. If they hadn't met, then this would not have happened. She won the battle, but lost the war!
"County Princess, this is a misunderstanding. It must be a misunderstanding. Hewen has been enamoured by County Princess for a long time. How could he do such a thing? Someone must be framing him!"Mrs. Jiang-Wang quickly explained.
Today was the wedding day of Hewen and the county princess. The guests in the family had not left yet. With such a big scandal, the reputation of the Jiang family would be ruined for a hundred years!
Everyone in the Jiang family hated Jiang Hewen and Su Ruxue, that bitch!
"You bastard! You still haven't explained things to County Princess!" Jiang Hewen's father, Jiang Wande, the eldest master of the Jiang family, glared at Jiang Hewen.
Jiang Hewen was busy getting dressed. "County Princess, listen to my explanation. It's her! She seduced me!" Jiang Hewen knew the importance of this matter. Today's matter would not only ruin him, but the entire Jiang family! Li Su's parents died for the country defending the land. She was taken in by the empress dowager and His Majesty. She was also the empress dowager's adopted daughter, and the county princess appointed by His Majesty!
Love was important, but compared with life and his family's future, it was not as important.
So, Jiang Hewen betrayed Su Ruxue without hesitation.
Although Su Ruxue was mentally prepared, when this scene really happened, she was still chilled. This was her lover, who pampered her every day. The lingering sweet words in bed still seemed to ring in her ears, but now…
Thinking about her life, it was so worthless! Obviously they met before, but because of a marriage contract, they couldn't stay together! She did not hesitate to marry a tuberculosis ghost to achieve her objective, and lost her life just to be able to meet him day and night. It was a pity that, after years of dreaming, she finally had to wake up.
Li Su looked at the absurd scene in front of her and then thought about the plot. She just felt disgusted! She sneered. "I came to Jiang Mansion for the first time today. How do you think that I knew that you would be meeting privately like this? My parents just entrusted me with a dream. In the dream, they told me that you, Jiang Hewen, are despicable, shameless, and dirty villain! You and her have had an affair for a long time, before she entered the mansion! It has been about five or six years now! She is your second older sister-in-law. When your second older brother was terminally ill, you were already hanging out with her in this legendary haunted Snowfall Pavillion!"
As soon as these words came out, the eyes of the people present immediately changed. People nowadays were very much in awe of ghosts and gods. Due to Li Su's eloquent words, people believed it.
If what Li Su said was true, then the third young master and the second young mistress…
Thinking of this, the Jiang family looked at Jiang Hewen differently. Especially the eldest young master Jiang Hecheng and his wife. They looked at Jiang Hewen with extreme hatred. Jiang Hewen ranked third in the family. The first two brothers, Jiang Hecheng and Jiang Hexian, were both born to the previous wife, and Jiang Hewen was born by Jiang Wande's, Mrs. Wang.
"My Li family is loyal. I don't want to be in the company of a villain like you!" Li Su said indifferently. "I will make it clear to His Majesty about today's matter and will ask His Majesty to judge."
Li Su was about to leave when Mrs. Jiang-Wang stopped in front of her. Li Su's eyes widened, "What? Do you want to imprison me? Uncle Zhong!"
A middle-aged man who was blind in one eye pulled out the treasured saber hanging from his waist and stood in front of Li Su. He was Li Su's father's personal soldier who had been on the battlefield and killed people. He wasn't afraid of anyone!
Mrs. Jiang-Wang shrank back.
Li Su left first with Wen Yu and Wen Mo. Li Zhong stayed with someone and took all Li Su's dowry! These were provided by the lives of the general and the madam!
Li Su didn't care what the Jiang family would do after she left. She didn't even change out of her wedding dress. She went directly to the palace to complain.
Her father was a late mighty general who led the 8,000 soldiers of Han City, stalled the enemy's army of 100,000 and bought time for the reinforcements to arrive in the rear. However, he and his wife died in the city, leaving only their daughter behind, the original owner.
Whether it was because of genuine guilt or political considerations, the empress dowager and His Majesty treated the original owner very well. After the original owner married Jiang Hewen, His Majesty valued Jiang Hewen a lot and supported him in every possible way. Because of this, Jiang Hewen also grew steadily. He was rich and prosperous to the end.
The news of the Jiang family's farce had already reached the palace. The empress dowager and His Majesty were very angry, but they did not express their position. After all, Li Su had already visited Jiang Hewen. As for how to deal with this matter, they would still respect Li Su's intentions.
Now that they heard that Li Su had entered the palace, the empress dowager quickly summoned her.
Li Su didn't cry or make trouble. She just knelt on the ground and said that she wanted to divorce Jiang Hewen, begging the empress dowager and His Majesty to make it happen.
The empress dowager and the emperor had a tacit understanding on this matter for a long time. She looked at Li Su and saw that she was wearing a wedding dress, bright and generous. Unlike ordinary women, when encountering such a thing, they would either swallow their anger, or just keep crying. But, Li Su was calm and self-controlled, and she was not a tiger girl!
"Susu, get up and talk! Come to Our side," the empress dowager said softly.
Li Su got up and walked to the empress dowager's side.
The empress dowager took her hand and sat down beside her. "We were not satisfied with the marriage between you and the Jiang family. The Jiang family is not worthy of you. But this was decided by your grandfather before his death and We could not say anything. It's better now to see his true face as soon as possible, so as not to suffer losses in the future. Tomorrow, We will decree that you will be divorced!"
Li Su smiled. "Thank you, Empress Dowager!"
The empress dowager remembered something. "By the way, you said that your parents gave you a vision. Is this true or false?"
"Of course it's true. This was the first time I've been to Jiang family's house. I don't even know where Snowfall Pavillion is. Wen Yu led the way," Li Su said seriously.
The empress dowager looked at her face carefully. She could not see that Li Su was lying, and so she nodded. It was probably General Li and his wife from heaven, protecting their beloved daughter!
"It's your parents who are protecting you from heaven! Forget it, it's just a Jiang Hewen. and just a divorce. Go back now. We and the emperor will pick a better one for you." The empress dowager patted Li Su's hand.
But Li Su shook her head and knelt on the ground again. "Empress Dowager, I don't want to marry again. I'm begging the empress dowager!"
"Good child, how can you say this? There is no reason why a girl wouldn't marry," the empress dowager said.
"I've already married someone! It's just that my husband is dead! I want to remain faithful to my deceased husband!" Li Su said seriously.
The empress dowager frowned. "Why are you doing this?"
"Empress Dowager, I'm begging you. I really don't want to get married. Although I am a woman, I don't want to be trapped in the back house. I still have a lot of things I want to do. My father left a lot of manuscripts before, all of them detail the experience of running the army and fighting wars. There are also my mother's poems, which I want to organise and publish to pass them on to future generations. I also want to travel to famous mountains and rivers, and to see the beautiful land that my parents and thousands of soldiers guarded with their lives! Empress Dowager, I really don't want to get married!"
When the empress dowager heard this, she was touched. It seemed that she also had such an idea when she was young. She wanted to travel to the mountains and rivers, and become a female poet whose work would be passed down through the ages. Later, she entered the palace and her dream came to an abrupt end.
After so many years, she saw it again in this girl…
