When it came to the Yu Family’s cuisine, the seafood from Heavenly Water Lake was naturally indispensable—raw, pan-fried, grilled, and more, prepared in all sorts of ways.
Under the Family Head Yu Lu’s introduction, the Yu Shizun took a small taste of the sashimi with wasabi soy sauce. She nodded slightly in satisfaction, then picked up a slice for Yan Zhen and another for Mentor Yu Xuan.
“Don’t just eat meat all the time. Have some fish.”
Mentor Yu Xuan said prettily, “Many thanks, Supreme,” before eating hers gracefully. Yan Zhen, however, picked up his slice with a subtle expression, hesitating for a good while before shoving it into his mouth and swallowing it down in one go.
Yu Shizun’s delicate brows furrowed slightly.
“You don’t like it?”
Yan Zhen chuckled.
“I prefer it cooked.”
“Then why eat it? If you’d said you didn’t like it earlier, I wouldn’t have forced you.”
“Er, it would be a waste for the Supreme to clip food for me personally.”
Yu Shizun glanced at Yan Zhen, then picked up a square piece of braised pork belly and placed it in his bowl.
“It’s just clipping some food. Tell me what you want, and I’ll get it for you.”
“Ah, this…”
—Yu Shizun wasn’t playing by the rules!
Not just Yan Zhen—even the Family Head Yu Lu’s expression shifted slightly. She hadn’t expected the Yu Shizun to hold Son-in-Law Yan Zhen in such high regard.
“I’ll get it myself.” Yan Zhen said bashfully. “There’s no reason for a junior to have an elder serve him food.”
“Fair enough.” Yu Shizun replied indifferently. “In that case, I’ll head back to the Back Mountain Cave Mansion first. Eat slowly.”
“Huh? You’re leaving already?”
Yu Shizun didn’t answer. Her figure gradually faded, vanishing from sight, leaving only faint ripples in the surrounding space.
Yan Zhen wasn’t sure if he’d imagined it, but it seemed like the Yu Shizun had smiled at him just before she left.
“She really left? She barely ate anything.”
Mentor Yu Xuan peeled the tender shrimp meat, dipped it in vinegar, and fed it into Yan Zhen’s mouth. She explained, “The Supreme doesn’t like crowds. She avoids showing up even for events at the sacred grounds whenever possible. In past years, she never sat down to eat with everyone when she returned. She only did so today for your sake.”
With that, she sucked on her finger, the gesture somewhat endearing.
Now that the Yu Shizun was gone, she could relax a bit.
Before Yan Zhen had even finished the shrimp, the Family Head Mother-in-Law by his side spoke up.
“Yu Xuan is right, Son-in-Law Yan Zhen. The Supreme thinks highly of you, and it’s not just because of the Technique Saint Lord’s connection. It’s you yourself she values.”
Yan Zhen turned his head and saw that the Family Head Mother-in-Law had taken the Yu Shizun’s seat. A faint, elegant fragrance wafted from the mature woman.
With mother and daughter flanking him, anyone who didn’t know better might think he was the master of the Yu Family.
—This felt so strange.
He glanced at the banquet hall’s sides, where nearly everyone was female—old and young, youthful beauties and mature stunners. He was the only man there, as if the entire Yu Family were his personal harem.
Though Yan Zhen had once said that, to break the Yu Family’s rules and marry Mentor Yu Xuan, he would make the Yu Family his own possession, he had only meant bringing them under his banner as a subordinate force—not some hentai scenario.
“Ahem.”
Yan Zhen shook his head to clear away the stray thoughts and said casually, “I found the Yu Shizun surprisingly approachable, much like you, Mother-in-Law. She seems aloof on the surface but truly considerate of others.”
The Family Head Yu Lu’s face remained impassive.
“No need to butter me up. I’m well aware my personality isn’t likable… I’m neither as eloquent as my sister nor as forthright as Little Qing. I’m hardly suited to be the family head.”
As she spoke, a trace of sorrow flickered in her eyes, tugging at Yan Zhen’s heart.
He could understand the Family Head Mother-in-Law’s feelings.
Unable to bear children herself, her sister had suddenly thrust the role of successor upon her. She’d graduated from the academy, selected a husband, married, used the Bloodline Secret Art to conceive, given birth, raised her daughter, and then formally taken over as family head, immersing herself in the clan’s vast affairs… Most of her life hadn’t followed her own will but the strict dictates of being “Yu Family Head.”
“Why say such things about yourself, Mother?” Mentor Yu Xuan grabbed a Heavenly Water Lake King Crab with her bare hands, expertly disassembling it with the crab tools. She fed Yan Zhen a piece of meat or roe. “Over these years, you’ve managed the family impeccably. Even if it’s not meritorious service, it’s at least without fault. That’s more than enough. What do you mean ‘suited’ or not?”
“Mentor Yu Xuan is right,” Yan Zhen said after swallowing the crab meat. “Mother-in-Law is Mother-in-Law. It’s normal for her to differ from Great-Aunt, Little Aunt, and the others. And whether a personality is likable depends on the beholder. A woman as breathtakingly beautiful as Mother-in-Law gains even more allure from her cool demeanor. Far from unlikable, she should be beloved by all.”
Yan Zhen activated his Special Trump Card: Bootlicker.
Mentor Yu Xuan shot him a sideways glance, muttering that he was hopeless, before popping the last piece of crab meat into her own mouth.
Watching her daughter disassemble the crab and feed her husband, with the young couple so sweetly affectionate, left the Family Head Yu Lu momentarily dazed.
She took a small sip of wine, turned her face away, and said calmly, “You young people sure have a way with words. If only you put that into action as well.”
Yan Zhen smiled and, to lighten the mood, asked, “Mother-in-Law, when will Great-Aunt, Little Aunt, and Aunt be arriving?”
He had overheard earlier why Great-Aunt and the others were late.
The Family Head Yu Lu replied evenly, “They should arrive before the Ancestor Worship tomorrow. My sister is very punctual.”
“Oh—right, for the Ancestor Worship, do I need to be there?”
“Of course. You’ve already betrothed yourself to Yu Xuan, so you’re part of the Yu Family. Just stand with her then.”
“Got it.”
The banquet lasted a full hour. The Yu Family members ate and chatted, their faces lit with various smiles. The atmosphere was relaxed and cheerful—completely different from usual, after all, the festival was upon them.
This was merely the Pre-Festival Banquet. Tomorrow came the Ancestor Worship, followed by the Listen-to-Rain Boat Meeting, and then the Post-Festival Gathering the day after—a three-day holiday in total.
As the banquet ended and everyone dispersed, people on the road were still envying the closeness between Yan Zhen and the Yu Shizun.
This one meal had essentially cemented Yan Zhen’s status in the Yu Family. Even those with petty grudges against him no longer dared voice them.
After bidding farewell to the Family Head Mother-in-Law, Yan Zhen followed Mentor Yu Xuan to her room. He sank onto the soft couch with a long exhale.
She sat down pressed close beside him and laughed. “What? Dealing with Mother was that exhausting?”
Yan Zhen naturally pulled his mentor wife into his arms. “It wasn’t dealing with her. I truly respect Mother-in-Law from the bottom of my heart, so I was on my best behavior, afraid of any offense. Whew, I really am a good son-in-law.”
“Good son-in-law?” The Yu Family mentor’s gaze turned peculiar. “In our Yu Family, a ‘good son-in-law’ traditionally serves his mother-in-law with his body.”
“Ahem, ahem.” Yan Zhen choked on his own saliva. “What the hell?”
Mentor Yu Xuan spread her hands. “Back when that custom existed, that’s what it meant. But it’s mostly been abolished now.”
Yan Zhen recalled what Elder Great-Aunt had said about the Shared Husband tradition and felt a headache coming on. “Mostly’ meaning…?”
“It’s not explicitly forbidden in the family rules.”
“…”
