“Aunt Mu is so shy~” Ji Ya said with a mischievous grin. “Sister once tried nudging her toward romance, but she always dodged it, claiming she had no interest in love… so Sister pulled this little stunt and made her your concubine. You don’t mind, do you, little brother Yan Zhen?”
Yan Zhen shook his head.
“Of course not. Aunt Mu is a wonderful elder—and a fine woman.”
“Hmm, don’t let Aunt Mu’s age fool you. She’s over thirty, but she’s incredibly pure-hearted, even still a virgin. After you claimed her body, little brother Yan Zhen, she’s been utterly devoted to you.”
Hearing it put so bluntly made Yan Zhen flush with embarrassment.
Ji Ya pressed on.
“Little brother, it might sound strange, but Sister truly hopes you’ll spare a bit of your love for Aunt Mu. Let her taste the joys and happiness of being a woman.”
Yan Zhen scratched his cheek.
“I get it, Sister Ji Ya. I’ve never seen Aunt Mu as an outsider.”
“Did you hear that, Aunt Mu?” Ji Ya called out toward the window. “Next time, bring Jin Tong and Yu Nu along to serve little brother Yan Zhen~”
The shadow beyond the window rippled once, then scurried off into the distance.
Ji Ya burst into giggles.
“She’s embarrassed again. Aunt Mu really is adorable.”
Yan Zhen recalled Aunt Mu’s sneaky little “wave” hello to him earlier and had to agree—she truly was.
“By the way, Sister Ji Ya, do you know anything about stocks and finance?”
Ji Ya blinked, replying half-seriously, half-playfully.
“Of course. In the precognitive dream, I heard all about it from you, little brother Yan Zhen. Once my body recovered, I started putting it into practice—and I’ve made a tidy sum already~”
Yan Zhen nodded in realization.
“I see. I was planning to explain it all to you myself, Sister Ji Ya. After all, even as husband and wife, I can’t keep mooching off the chamber of commerce forever.”
“You and your distant talk. The money-making ideas you shared with Sister in that precognitive dream are already priceless—not to mention you’re Sister’s lifesaver.” Ji Ya pouted in dissatisfaction. “I just told you: the chamber of commerce, Sister, Aunt Mu, Jin Tong, Yu Nu—they all belong to you, little brother Yan Zhen.”
“But I’m a man, after all. Eating soft rice now and then is one thing, but I can’t make a habit of it.”
“Little brother, Sister’s happy to feed you~”
“I don’t want to turn into a freeloader.”
“Aw, you~”
Yan Zhen flashed a carefree smile.
“Oh, right—there’s one more thing I need to tell you, Sister Ji Ya. Xian’er has come to the Royal Capital too. I’ve settled her at a place called the Golden House Inn.”
“Little Sister Xian’er?”
Ji Ya blinked in surprise. She hadn’t seen that coming. In her memory, Yi Xian’er should still be secluded in Evil Spirit Valley, cultivating.
—Did she rush here just for little brother Yan Zhen?
“Wait a minute. I heard two female Mystic Ancestors clashed in the skies over the Royal Capital a couple days ago. Was one of them Little Sister Xian’er?”
“That’s her, yes.”
—Oh no!
Ji Ya’s heart sank. She had taken advantage of Yi Xian’er not being a match for Aunt Mu, unilaterally shredding their “alliance” pact and freezing Little Sister Xian’er out.
Never in a million years did she expect Yi Xian’er to reach Mystic Ancestor in little over a year. Aunt Mu was still only Mystic Lord Realm—she’d be no match at all!
If those two crossed paths, wouldn’t helpless little old her get absolutely trampled?
“Wait—who was the other Mystic Ancestor fighting Little Sister Xian’er?”
Yan Zhen hesitated, finding it hard to broach the subject. After a moment, he came clean.
“It was the City of Water’s Myriad Snake Queen—Cai Lian.”
—It really is She Ji little sister. Thank goodness!
Relief washed over Ji Ya.
Yi Xian’er and Cai Lian were bitter enemies; they’d be at each other’s throats the moment they met. No way either could spare a hand to settle scores with feeble Ji Ya Sister.
—Still, She Ji little sister being in the Royal Capital too… does that mean she reincarnated? No wonder they fought. I remember she should be pregnant with Yan’er by now…
The thought soured Ji Ya’s mood with a pang of envy.
The woman with the best Pregnancy Qi—knocked up on the first go.
She’d had a full month of it herself and stood a real chance, but for the sake of the chamber of commerce’s growth and little brother’s feelings, she’d refined it all away.
Otherwise, with her Cauldron Constitution fully Opened, popping out one or two wouldn’t have been any trouble at all.
“Sister Ji Ya?”
“Ahem. How did Little Sister Xian’er jump straight to Mystic Ancestor powerhouse? And pick a fight with the Myriad Snake Queen, of all people?”
“There’s a long story behind it. But first, there’s something I need to come clean about. Please don’t get angry after hearing it, Sister Ji Ya.”
Yan Zhen looked so meek and vulnerable that Ji Ya found it utterly endearing—and a little amusing.
“Go on, little brother. Sister’s all ears~”
“Well… the Myriad Snake Queen—Cai Lian and I—we were married in our last life. And we even have a child now.”
Yan Zhen laid it out simply: Cai Lian and Zi Xunyi had been his wives in that previous life. To give his two time-travelling daughters proper bodies, they’d gotten pregnant.
Ji Ya had pried every last detail about those two junior sisters and her good little brother back in that old life, so none of this truly shocked her.
The real head-scratchers were that Cai Lian and Zi Xunyi were reincarnators too.
And whether Yi Xian’er might sell her out?
If little brother Yan Zhen learned she was one as well—but had hidden it, spinning all these shenanigans—wouldn’t she just die of embarrassment?
She’d only faked that precognitive dream closeness early on, blending her past-life memories with her innate prophetic talent, to bridge the gap with Yan Zhen fast. Claiming they were blissfully wedded in the dream…
Ji Ya shuddered at the fallout if those junior sisters caught wind. Her painstaking “good big sister” image from the old days would shatter to pieces!
Little brother Yan Zhen might even get properly mad—the kind of mad near impossible to soothe!
—Disaster!
Ji Ya panicked.
“Sister Ji Ya, are you upset?” Yan Zhen hung his head, guilt lacing his voice. “I know it’s unfair to you. I never imagined things would play out like this.”
The remorse etched on Yan Zhen’s face only amplified Ji Ya’s own guilt. Should she confess too?
—But she couldn’t get the words out. Too mortifying!
“Sister isn’t upset.” Ji Ya rushed to reassure him. “Just… shocked. Reincarnation is such wild stuff. If you hadn’t told me yourself, little brother Yan Zhen, Sister never would’ve bought it.”
The more she talked, the deeper her panic grew. She’d painted herself into a corner.
“You really don’t mind, Sister Ji Ya?”
“Of course Sister minds! But you’re so exceptional, little brother Yan Zhen—Sister’s been bracing for this. Huangfu Wenqing, Little Sister Xian’er, the Myriad Snake Queen, Purple-Clothed Goddess… Sister will welcome them all. What choice does she have? She likes you that much~”
“Sister Ji Ya…”
Yan Zhen was profoundly touched.
Every woman in his life put him first—his master above all, Mentor Yu Xuan too, and now Sister Ji Ya as well—
Ji Ya: (oωo)
