At first, the Family Head Yu Lu hadn’t trusted Yan Zhen, so she had planned to win his heart with money and beauties.
But after more than a year of close interaction, she gradually came to understand that Yan Zhen truly treated the three sisters as cherished elders.
The Yu Family already held a place in his heart.
Just as the Yu Shizun had said, even if she didn’t offer herself, Yan Zhen would protect the Yu Family going forward.
She shouldn’t approach the young man with such calculating motives any longer. Instead, she should treat him like true family, dote on him as her son-in-law from the perspective of a mother-in-law—nothing so crude as a base exchange of flesh.
“…”
As she mulled this over, the banquet hall outside came alive with song and dance. Qin strings provided accompaniment while graceful beauties swirled in performance. The Yu Family clansmen ate their fill of delicacies, chatted freely, and enjoyed the music and spectacle however they pleased, with few rules to bind them.
Though a screen blocked the doorway to their private compartment, a surge of mystic power allowed a clear view of the hall—and, with a few adjustments, even the shows on the other ships. The screens on all six vessels were linked, each offering a glimpse of the central banquet stage.
Yan Zhen glanced out and noted how fine the Yu Family’s bloodline truly was. His peers among the clansmen were all cute little sisters or stunning older ones. No wonder so many men threw themselves at the family like moths to a flame, despite the harsh rules.
Quite a few live-in sons-in-law in the hall qualified as heaven’s proud ones themselves—men in their early thirties at the Mystic King Realm or Mystic Lord Realm, with handsome, enduring features to boot.
They sat beside their wives now, each wearing a different smile on his face. They weren’t nearly as morose or shadowy as Yan Zhen had imagined.
After all, not every member of the Yu Family Direct Lineage qualified to cultivate the Timely Rain Scripture.
And those who didn’t cultivate it had no need for the Bloodline Secret Art in matters of reproduction. Their marriages were much like any normal couple’s—no great difference at all.
Only the main family line suffered that particular twist.
Yan Zhen turned his head to regard the Yu Family Head Mother-in-Law, a wave of emotion rising in his chest.
In that moment, something brushed his thigh again. Yan Zhen immediately shifted his gaze to Mentor Yu Xuan, who wore a deeply resentful expression, as if to say:
“Staring at Mother again!”
Her foot kept rubbing against him, tickling playfully. Her lovely eyes glared daggers, like she was goading him on purpose.
Yan Zhen flashed a wicked grin and stealthily extended his own foot in response.
—Let’s see who cracks first!
Mentor Yu Xuan’s lovely face flushed pink. She bit her lip and channeled water Mystic force into her foot, unleashing a unique technique.
Yan Zhen didn’t flinch in the slightest. After all, he had endured the Demoness’s “special training.”
The mentor was something of an all-talk warrior—queen of verbal sparring but outmatched here. Only the gifted Cai Lian could truly compete with her in this arena, and even then, her footwork fell far short of Jiuyou’s.
Yan Zhen, on the other hand, possessed the Special Trump Card: Golden Finger and the Special Trump Card: Kato Eagle Finger. Finger techniques weren’t quite the same as footwork, but the similarities gave him an edge.
Sure enough, Mentor Yu Xuan soon trembled faintly under his assault. She bit down on her lip, her beautiful eyes brimming with a tide of unspoken desire.
Just as Yan Zhen prepared to deliver the finishing blow and make his Mentor Wife submit completely, the Yu Family Head Mother-in-Law spoke up.
“Son-in-Law Yan Zhen, why aren’t you eating?”
The pair jolted like startled rabbits and yanked their feet back.
“I am! Eating right now,” Yan Zhen said, his voice thick with guilt. “Mother-in-Law, please eat too. Don’t worry about me.”
The Family Head Yu Lu glanced at the dishes on the table and saw that the cooked foods were all gone. “I’ll fetch you some more,” she said.
With that, she rose and headed out, returning moments later with a steaming plate of braised meat that she set before Yan Zhen before reclaiming her seat.
“Eat up.”
“Thank you, Mother-in-Law.”
Yan Zhen snatched up his chopsticks at once and tucked into a slice of meat with relish.
The Family Head Yu Lu lifted the wine bottle again and poured him a cup.
“Mother-in-Law, I can’t hold my liquor,” Yan Zhen said quickly.
“A occasional sip has its own charm,” the Family Head Yu Lu replied warmly. “Besides, no real man shuns wine entirely. You have to drink a little.”
“Second Sister’s right,” Dean Yu Qing chimed in. “What kind of man can’t hold his drink? Want me to teach you?”
“Is Little Aunt a strong drinker, then?”
“Of course! They call me Thousand Cups Not Drunk Little Yu Qing!”
She looked immensely pleased with herself.
Shui Bailan laughed. “Yu Qing does have impressive capacity, but her personality turns foul once she’s truly sloshed. Better not learn from her example.”
Dean Yu Qing bristled at her best friend’s betrayal. “Bailan! My drinking personality isn’t that bad!”
Elder Yu Yan smiled gently. “It’s best to drink sparingly. A light sip uplifts the spirit; heavy indulgence harms the body.”
Yan Zhen’s mouth twitched as his gaze landed on the bottle in the Elder Great-Aunt’s hand. Only then did he realize she was chugging straight from it—and that she’d already emptied three. Her face glowed with a ruddy flush, yet she showed no signs of being drunk.
—Impressive!
He recalled that the mentor had a solid tolerance too. Was it because they all cultivated water Mystic force? Did the whole family have livers of steel?
Yan Zhen had no desire to drink, but with his mother-in-law pouring personally, refusal felt impossible. He raised his cup. “A toast to you, Mother-in-Law.”
He downed it in one go. Fire scorched his throat and blazed down to his gut. His head grew heavy at once, a dizzy haze settling in.
What a punch this wine packed. The alcohol burned fiercely, but the mystic qi within was even richer—likely Tier 6 medicinal brew, the sort that invigorated qi and blood.
Surely not another tonic tailored for his Body Refining?
As if to confirm his suspicion, the Family Head Yu Lu explained, “This is a special Qi Supplementing Wine I prepared. It boosts qi and blood—and offers some aid to your Body Refining.”
—No wonder her bottle looked different from the ones the Elder Great-Aunt was chugging.
Yan Zhen felt a pang of emotion. His mother-in-law thought of him at every turn, while he deceived her relentlessly. All he wanted was to marry Mentor Yu Xuan properly; he had no intention of becoming a live-in son-in-law. Sigh.
As this thought crossed his mind, his thigh rubbed again. He looked down to find Mentor Yu Xuan glaring at him with fresh resentment, her eyes silently accusing: “Still mooning over Mother!”
Yan Zhen chuckled and breathed out a faint trace of wine fumes before sliding his foot forward once more. This time, however, she blocked it with mystic power and shoved it away.
Undeterred, Yan Zhen pressed on until his Mentor Wife stopped resisting.
Across from him diagonally, the Family Head Yu Lu felt her own thigh brush something. She assumed at first that her sister had grown restless from drink—but a closer look revealed the Elder Great-Aunt in a proper duck-sit, both feet planted outside. Suspicion drew her gaze to Yan Zhen, where she spotted her fine son-in-law with his legs extended conspicuously under the table.
—Must be an accident.
The Family Head Yu Lu paid it no mind. She lifted her cup for a sip, only for the contact to return—a sly nudge, then a nimble probe into the gap between her legs, tickling with teasing intent.
“!?”
The Family Head Yu Lu stared at Yan Zhen in stunned disbelief. Had she misread the situation? She glanced at her sister again—legs still outside, no one else in reach but him!
—What… what is this child up to?
