Chapter 280 - Family Matters
Ye Anping took out the red ceremonial robe from the closet that he had only worn once before in front of Xiao Yunluo and asked Pei Lianxue to change into the Black Star Sect uniform. After washing up, he rushed toward the Heavenly Pavilion on the Main Peak of the Hundred Lotus Sect with his sword.
The spring had revived the spirit of the Hundred Lotus Sect, and the sound of reciting from books could be heard on all peaks, creating a vibrant scene.
Pei Lianxue took a deep breath to calm down her nervousness. She used to be quite afraid of Kong Yulan. Every time she beat her brother black and blue, Kong Yulan would make her stand for a long time with a full bucket on her head.
And no matter how you looked at it, Kong Yulan's face didn't look too good just now.
Although Brother said he didn't care, she knew that she was just a small cultivator who had been an ordinary person before entering the Immortality Path while her brother was the Young Master of the Hundred Lotus Sect.
She used to think that if Kong Yulan didn't agree, she would hide her relationship with her brother.
But now that they had been discovered...
"Hiss-huu..."
Pei Lianxue sneakily glanced at her brother's formal attire and then looked at the Black Star Sect uniform that he had made her wear, suddenly understanding her brother's intentions.
"Brother, do you intend to marry me as a disciple of the Black Star Sect?"
Ye Anping nodded slightly. "I've always told you that we shouldn't make any distinction between high and low among people. I have been teaching you that since you were a child. For instance, Xiaodie, I have never treated her as a maid or a servant."
"Hmm."
Ye Anping sighed helplessly. "However, the tradition of this world is that men are superior to women. Although it is a lot lighter among cultivators, it still exists. My mother has lived for hundreds of years, and most of her time has been amid those stereotypes, so she attaches great importance to the identity and background of the girl I marry. But people tend to
compromise. Rather than arguing directly to convince her, it is better to cater to her wishes first, and then subtly change her ideas over time to avoid unnecessary conflicts."
Pei Lianxue nodded in understanding. "I see."
"The beginning is not important. What counts is the process and the results." Ye Anping rubbed Pei Lianxue's head and continued, "Don't worry, I made up my mind. No matter your background, I will definitely marry you."
Pei Lianxue listened to him, took another deep breath, and knew what she was going to say. She followed Ye Anping up the steps, opened the Heavenly Pavilion door, and walked in.
Kong Yulan had also changed into formal clothes at this moment and sat on the main seat in the room. The expression on her beautiful face was strict and her eyes were sharp, showing her authority as the head of a sect.
Pei Lianxue and Ye Anping walked up to her and bowed with their hands cupped. "Mother." "Mrs. Kong."
"Well, Anping, you wait here." Kong Yulan sat up from her seat. "Miss Pei, you come into the back room with me; let's talk privately."
"... Yes, Ma'am."
Pei Lianxue looked at Ye Anping, balled her hands into fists, and followed Kong Yulan up the stairs to the second floor.
After the two of them went up, Ye Anping breathed a sigh of relief and found a chair to sit down on. He looked around, and seeing even more valuable vases and paintings in the room, he couldn't help but sigh. "Dad's nouveau riche mentality is not over yet? Such a waste..."
"These were given to Mrs. Kong by the Patriarch."
Xiaodie's voice came from behind. She seemed to have been hiding behind the screen in the room just now and only dared to poke her head out when she saw Pei Lianxue and Mrs. Kong going upstairs.
Ye Anping looked back at her, and after a moment of silence, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did you snitch to my mother?"
"Ah... Young Master, are you angry?" Xiaodie lowered her head and weakly explained. "This... I still feel that I had to tell Mrs. Kong about this matter. After all..."
"I'm not angry. After all, you must be loyal to my mother and father. If you didn't tell them, it would seem like you are rebelling."
Xiaodie sighed helplessly and spread her hands, saying, "Yes, it's hard to be a maid. If I don't tell Madam, then Madam will have to punish me. If I tell Madam, then Young Master will feel uncomfortable, and there will always be one side who will be unhappy."
"I told you, I'm not angry."
"Well, it's good you're not angry." Xiaodie smiled, brought tea, and poured Ye Anping a cup. Then, she looked at his face shyly. "But then again..."
"What is it?"
"Young Master, from whom did you learn those things? I saw you even let Sister Pei on top..."
Ye Anping pursed his mouth and asked, "... You quite understand these things, don't you?"
"Well, actually, I was supposed to teach you those things two years ago." Xiaodie smiled. "But, every time I think of your silly look with a dripping nose, I feel... quite awkward."
"What age are you talking about?"
"Two or three years old? You were very cute at that time, asking me for candied fruits on a stick every day. However, you wetted the bed a little too often. I had to wash the sheets every few days. It smelled really bad."
Ye Anping was a little embarrassed. At that time, his brain was not fully developed, and he had no idea what the memories of his previous life meant. It was not until he turned three years old that he finally understood the meaning of the images that kept flashing in his mind.
"You girl, haven't you grown too bold? It's because I haven't disciplined you before that you are getting bolder, right?"
"Hehe..." Xiaodie covered her mouth and snickered, then changed her demeanor and bowed. "I was wrong."
Ye Anping waved his hands helplessly, then asked, "Where's my dad? Why isn't he here?"
"Patriarch Ye should be here at any moment..."
Creak---
At this moment, the door of the Heavenly Pavilion opened.
Ye Ao, wearing a straw hat and carrying a jade fishing rod on his shoulder, appeared in the doorway. When he saw Ye Anping in the room, he raised his eyebrows in confusion.
"Eh? Pingping, when did you come back?"
"... Yesterday."
"Oh..." Ye Ao nodded, walked into the room, and put the fishing rod on the table. "What girl did you bring back now? Let me see her."
?
Ye Anping was stupefied. "Dad, is that your impression of me, that every time I come back, I bring a girl over?"
Ye Ao frowned and glanced at him in displeasure. "When have you ever come back without a girl? The first time was Feng Yu Die, the second time was Xiao Yunluo, and the third time... you even brought a man back, that Liang Zhu, and his daughter."
?
Ye Anping was speechless, but hearing him talk about Liang Zhu, he immediately remembered the dark circles under the man's eyes. "Dad, I asked Brother Liang to come and live here. Why are you treating him like a donkey? When I saw him yesterday, his eyes were almost as black as a panda's."
"Ah? That is not my fault." Ye Ao quickly shook his head. "I also told him to rest, but he said it was fine, and he could still work, so he took over a lot of things."
"So it was on his own initiative?"
"Yes, I actually sympathize with him. In order to make money to support his daughter, he is sacrificing quite a lot."
"Well, later on, I will take him somewhere with me. Let's treat it as giving him a vacation."
"Where are you going? By the way, where have you been for the past six months? Your mother and I went to the Black Star Sect to find you, but you and little Pei weren't there. It was your senior sister who received us."
"Sister?"
"Bai Yuexin, right? Quite a nice girl, asked your mother and me a lot about your childhood."
"Really..."
Ye Anping thought that when he returned to the Black Star Sect later, he should buy some gifts for Sister Bai.
Ye Ao took off his coat and continued, "After that, we also met one of your junior sisters from the Black Star Sect. She was very lively and cute, and came especially to show us around."
?
Where did a junior sister come from?
Ye Anping frowned in confusion. "Who was she?"
"Her name is... Miss Xuanji, I think? A young cultivator in the Qi Refining stage."
?
Ye Anping opened his mouth, but thinking about it, not many people knew the name Si Xuanji. Most people only knew about the Immortal Matriarch, and his parents had never seen her in person.
"..."
"You're quite a charming boy. That girl seems to like you, and she even asked me to pass you a message."
"What message?"
"Said something about how she's always available to help, and that if you need anything, just go to her place and look for her."
"..."
What exactly was her intention? What did she want to do?
Ye Anping felt somewhat scared hearing that. He didn't believe that Si Xuanji liked him.
That old loli harbored some dirty thoughts in her heart, and she definitely had some agenda when she took the initiative to get close to his parents.
Ye Ao looked at Ye Anping and seemed to feel quite proud that his son had so many beauties chasing after him.
Thinking about himself back then, he only took on two hundred pounds of Kong Yulan.
"Sigh--"
Ye Ao sighed but then seemed to remember something again. He walked to the bookcase in the corner of the first floor, rummaged through it, pulled out a small box from inside, and threw it to Ye Anping. "By the way, this is yours too."
"What is it?"
"A jade pendant from the Dragon House. Did you trick Miss Li into giving it to you when you were there?"
"..."
As he spoke, Ye Ao also took out a letter from the side, unfolded it, and read it in the soft tone of a weak girl. "I haven't seen you for a year~~ I miss you very much~~ Young Master Ye, I wonder how are you doing these days?"
Ye Anping got goosebumps from his father's voice. He shivered and interrupted him quickly. "Hiss--- either read it properly or don't read it at all!"
"Hehe~~~" Ye Ao stroked his beard and laughed, then handed him the letter. "Read it yourself and remember to reply to the letter. You made that girl cry."
"Dad, how could you read my letter?"
"Your mother read it, I just took a peek." Ye Ao winked, then looked around the room. "By the way, where is your mother?"
"Upstairs, talking to Sister Pei."
"Little Pei? What are they talking about?"
"..."
Ye Anping thought for a while, then turned to look at Xiaodie who stood silently next to him. "Xiaodie, tell him."
Xiaodie glanced at Ye Anping and sighed slightly before cupping her hands. "Patriarch Ye, yesterday, Young Master and Sister Pei secretly practiced dual cultivation together, and Mrs. Kong found out about it."
"Dual cultivation, heh..." Ye Ao froze for a moment, feeling something was wrong, and his eyes suddenly popped out. "Ah?!!! What the hell?!!"
Xiaodie didn't repeat, just pouted slightly, staring at him.
After a moment of shock, Ye Ao finally reacted. "Good job, kid. I knew you could do it! I even made a bet with your mother that you would bring someone with you when you came back. In the end, the one you brought ended up in Little Pei's belly?"
?
"Dad, your joke is not funny."
Ye Ao walked to a tea table by the window, sat down cross-legged, and waved to him. "Come on, come on, let's have a good chat as father and son, come here!"