“Xuan’er, don’t scare people like that. Mystic Saints aren’t cabbages growing everywhere,” Dean Yu Qing said, only half convinced. “In the entire holy land, only the Holy Lord is a Mystic Saint. Even the three Supreme Elders are merely Half-Saints.”
Mentor Yu Xuan shot back irritably, “Does Little Aunt think just anyone qualifies as the Flame Emperor’s confidante? Besides Your Highness Zi Ji, Your Highness Long Ying, and Sister Cai Lian, there are the Holy Lord and her saintess disciple from Evergreen Holy Land, the president of the Golden Jade Chamber of Commerce—who will become the Merchant Alliance Lord— the Thousand Fiend Queen who rules Thousand-Li Evil Abyss on Crimson Yang Continent, and even the secondary body of the Evil Consort from Demon Domain. Each one is an extraordinary figure… If Little Aunt truly likes him, she needs to steel herself for it. The gap between you two will only widen. Even if Yan Zhen doesn’t mind, I’m afraid you might end up leaving him of your own accord.”
As she spoke, her tone grew a touch despondent.
That was more or less what had happened in her previous life. The growing disparity had driven them further and further apart.
In the blink of an eye, he had scaled the lofty peak, gazing down upon the world, while she lingered midway up the slope, forever looking up at him and the women who could stand by his side.
“It’s not that exaggerated—I’m a genius too!” Dean Yu Qing muttered. Then she caught herself and denied it. “Besides, who says I like him? He’s just a cocky kid!”
Mentor Yu Xuan couldn’t help but pull a disdainful face.
She could laugh off a junior like Ruyu sulking coyly and smooth things over, but Little Aunt was a grown woman acting this way—what was the point?
It must be tough for Aunt to stick by her side all the time.
“Aunt, that goes for you too.”
Shui Bailan snapped out of her reverie. “What do you mean, me too?”
A hint of teasing glinted in Mentor Yu Xuan’s eyes. “Aunt has feelings for Yan Zhen too, doesn’t she? I can tell.”
Her hidden affections laid bare by her niece, Shui Bailan flushed crimson, flustered and at a loss. “Xuan’er, I-I—”
“No need to explain. You all do this—knowing it’s not allowed, yet you insist… A bunch of bad women~”
The words “bad women” struck home. Both beautiful elders flushed with embarrassment and bowed their heads, burying them like ostriches.
After venting, Mentor Yu Xuan felt a little better. She said, “Anyway, that’s the situation. Don’t tell Mother for now. Yan Zhen will come clean with her later.”
Dean Yu Qing and Shui Bailan exchanged a glance, clearly reluctant.
“What kind of person is this Cai Lian?” Dean Yu Qing frowned. “You call her ‘sister’—doesn’t that acknowledge her as the main wife and relegate us to concubines by default?”
“Sister Cai Lian is older than me and has higher cultivation. In his previous life, she was Yan Zhen’s properly wedded wife. Calling her ‘sister’ isn’t over the line,” Mentor Yu Xuan said with an eye roll. “As for what kind of person she is, you’ll see once you meet her. Anyway, we’ll all be living together for a while.”
Dean Yu Qing puffed out her cheeks, clearly displeased.
She had only agreed to be a nominal concubine. With Xuan’er as the main wife, things wouldn’t get messy—they were equals sharing a husband, essentially. But if the main wife was an outsider, that changed everything.
What if she turned out to be a nasty woman who gave her a hard time every day?
Shui Bailan harbored similar worries, though hers were more immediate. “Will she have a problem with us?”
That gave Mentor Yu Xuan pause, and she frowned too. She could accept it because of her deep bonds with these elders, but Sister Cai Lian…
“Probably not. Though Yan Zhen might be in for it.”
…
Yan Zhen was indeed in a sorry state after Big Sis Long Ying had slammed down from the sky on him. He had nearly puked up last night’s dinner.
Wife Lady Cai Lian arrived without offering any comfort. Instead, she grilled him on whether he’d taken a lover, looking ready to let Big Sis Long Ying keep “suppressing” him until he confessed.
Yan Zhen had no choice but to come clean. He explained that Dean Little Aunt and Mentor Aunt were there for advanced studies, finally earning his release.
By now, the three of them had returned to the cave abode. They sat side by side on the bed, chatting.
“So it’s them.” Cai Lian remembered—they were the ones who had stopped the airship when they first arrived at the academy. “Speaking of which, this queen recalls that women of the Yu Family rarely marry out. Have you and little Xuan’er reached an agreement with the Yu Family?”
“Not yet,” Yan Zhen admitted, looking a bit awkward. “I just pretended to agree to marry in.”
Cai Lian shot her husband a cold sidelong glance. “Then how do you plan to explain this queen’s identity to the Yu Family?”
Yan Zhen smiled faintly and pulled Wife Lady’s lithe, water-snake waist into his arm. “Naturally, we’ll tell the truth. The mentor’s already working on softening them up.”
Cai Lian’s expression softened a little. She reached out to hug his waist in return and lapsed into thought, clearly simulating the upcoming meeting in her mind to prepare an appropriate response.
“Don’t worry—they’ll come around. After all, even the Yu Shizun has no objections.”
“Mm.”
Big Sis Long Ying, wrapped around Yan Zhen’s other arm, chimed in. “What about me~?”
Yan Zhen turned to her. “You what?”
“How are you going to explain my identity to the Yu Family?”
“What’s there to explain? You’re just the rice-bucket dragon girl I keep around.”
The goofy grin vanished from Long Ying’s face. She bristled indignantly. “I’m not a rice bucket! Yan Zhen Zhen’s a big dummy!”
Her voice boomed right into his ears, nearly deafening him.
“Whoa, whoa, I was just joking…”
“Hmph!”
Long Ying turned away in a huff but kept clinging to his arm. Her ample bosom—not inferior to Xian’er’s—pressed soft and bouncy against him, stirring his desires.
“The Yu Family already knows you, so no explanation needed. More like, how’d you end up like this?”
The mature dragon girl puffed out her chest proudly. “I’ve grown up. Isn’t that great?”
“Isn’t this form a huge energy drain?”
“Maintaining it for one day is no problem. I’ll shrink back when I sleep at night.”
“…Ahem. I still prefer the little version.”
“Liar! Sister Cai Lian said Yan Zhen Zhen likes them big—the bigger, the better!”
“?”
Yan Zhen whipped his head toward his snake wife, his slanted glare silently accusing her of corrupting the child. She looked a tad guilty but stuck to her guns. “This queen didn’t say anything wrong.”
Yan Zhen rolled his eyes at his pregnant wife. Always causing trouble, he thought. The little Long Ying was handful enough—how was he supposed to handle her grown up? What if he lost control?
Long Ying might be a reincarnator older than him, but she still had the heart of a child. How could he bring himself to do anything?
“Nothing much going on these past few days?” Yan Zhen changed the subject. “Has that Ye guy come sniffing around for trouble?”
Cai Lian replied coolly, “He showed up once. This queen sent him packing.”
Yan Zhen curled his lip. “He really had the guts to come knocking? Did a door slam shut on Ye Long’s forehead or something? He’s not afraid I’ll accidentally off his promising grandson?”
“He’s probably probing your strength,” Cai Lian said. She had heard the full story from Long Ying. “If the rumors are true, you’ll threaten their chief disciple’s position.”
