25: Bringing sisters into the inner house

“Have you read books?”

“My family was poor; it was only when my mother was alive that I learned a few characters!”

“Oh, I see.”

“Is there anything you want to ask?”

Xiao Qingyuan waved his hand, telling the old woman to leave.

He led the Jiang Sisters into the hall and sat grandly in the main seat.

Only then did he carefully observe the two of them for a few moments.

As identical twins, the Jiang Sisters should have looked exactly alike.

However, due to their spiritual bodies, they looked as if they were several years apart in age.

“I want to know, if I am willing, willing to become your concubine, would you be willing to treat my sister?”

Suddenly, the younger sister, Jiang Congqing, mustered her courage and spoke weakly.

Xiao Qingyuan poured himself a cup of tea and spoke frankly.

“You should know your sister’s condition without me telling you; it’s not that simple.”

“To fully recover, you know about Spirit Stones, right?”

“One can easily be exchanged for one hundred taels of gold, or a thousand taels of silver.”

“To cure her, I estimate at least fifty Spirit Stones!”

Xiao Qingyuan wasn’t speaking idly; for her sister’s problem, supplementing with spiritual rice or Yao Beast meat was useless.

She had to Cultivate the Nine Transformations of the Heavenly Demon.

Fifty Spirit Stones would only be enough for part of her preliminary Cultivation Technique.

The most important thing was to find a cold-attributed Yao Beast heart for her to refine to completely solve her problem.

“Fifty Spirit Stones?!!!”

The Jiang Sisters were instantly shocked upon hearing this.

They didn’t understand what fifty Spirit Stones meant, but they clearly understood five thousand taels of gold.

Who were they?

And by what right?

The younger sister’s vision went black, and she felt a sudden dizzy spell.

Xiao Qingyuan found it amusing; as the younger sister grew dizzy, the older sister’s face also turned pale.

There was an inexplicable connection between the two of them.

However, just as the two girls fell into despair, Xiao Qingyuan spoke calmly, as if fifty Spirit Stones were a minor matter:

“I can save you, and even bring you to Cultivate.

However, I don’t like to force people. You were brought back by my Eldest Cousin, and to be honest, I don’t know what you two truly think.”

Saying this, he pointed to the younger sister, Jiang Congqing.

“I don’t want to hide anything. The reason he brought you back was simply because he discovered that your younger sister possesses a Spiritual Root.

He wanted her to bear me a child with a Spiritual Root, that’s all.

And this, I presume Eldest Cousin already told you before, right?

Can you accept it?”

The two of them nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

They shyly expressed their willingness to follow him and promised never to be half-hearted.

There was no sense of rejection in their hearts, even if this was just a transaction.

They didn’t want to leave. Life had been hard before, so they naturally hadn’t experienced any undying love.

They had grown accustomed to the luxurious life in the town, with endless silver.

Their food and drink were far better than anything they could have imagined before.

They didn’t have to work from dawn till dusk, nor did they have to worry about being sold off one day.

Now, to be able to cure her sister’s ailments was an even greater surprise.

They felt as if their suffering had finally ended, and the hardships of their past eighteen years had vanished in an instant.

Moreover, the person before them was the young master of the Xiao Family, a true immortal.

Wasn't he a thousand, ten thousand times better than the landlord’s foolish son from before?

No!

There was simply no comparison!

What could they possibly be dissatisfied with?

As for wanting more?

No!

They were already very satisfied, unimaginably satisfied.

They would never push their luck.

As for a transaction?

Which couple in this world isn't a transaction?

Jiang Congbai pulled her sister, wanting to kowtow, but Xiao Qingyuan stopped her with a hand.

“Enough! Don’t always kowtow in the future; it’s uncomfortable to watch.”

“Since you agree, then from now on, you are my people. I don’t want to see unrest in the inner quarters, that’s all.”

The two girls exchanged glances. The younger sister, no longer anxious, quickly and joyfully stood behind him, instinctively kneading his shoulders.

The older sister knelt beside him, gently massaging his arms.

Their practiced movements were somewhat heartbreaking.

Xiao Qingyuan raised an eyebrow but didn’t stop them.

After a while, he ultimately didn’t get too intimate, stopping at a taste.

He then left behind a Cultivation Technique and a few Spirit Stones.

Only then did he lightly tap his toes and drift away.

It wasn’t until his figure disappeared that the small courtyard erupted in a burst of silver-bell-like laughter, lingering on… Xiao Qingyuan smiled faintly and nodded.

Only then was he finally satisfied.

He simply sent people to raise the defenses of the small courtyard by more than one Rank… After returning home.

Xiao Qingyuan, as if nothing had happened, embraced Zhao Guanyin.

Zhao Guanyin suddenly caught a scent of perfume on him and instantly knew what had happened.

But she had no particular thoughts.

She simply tilted her head in confusion.

“Is husband trying to tell this concubine something?”

Xiao Qingyuan was straightforward and spoke about the Jiang Sisters.

Zhao Guanyin was somewhat surprised upon hearing this.

Xiao Qingyuan was stunned at her reaction: “Guanyin Nu, aren’t you jealous?”

Sometimes people are so strange; he was happy that Guanyin Nu was sensible.

But if she was completely unconcerned, he felt a little uneasy.

“Where did husband’s thoughts go? Husband is expanding the Xiao Clan Immortal Family’s lineage; this concubine is overjoyed, how could there be any jealousy? If that were truly the case, wouldn’t this concubine become the jealous woman in a play?”

Saying this, she, in turn, gently comforted him.

“This concubine already knew about those sisters before, but seeing husband leave them outside and not visit them for three months straight, I thought husband was displeased and didn’t say anything. I was just thinking of personally helping husband find and arrange things.

Now that I know husband’s thoughts, a weight has actually been lifted from my heart.

It’s just that husband’s way of handling things—not bringing them home quickly.

Those who don’t know might think I was unwilling!

It unjustly made this concubine out to be a villain.”

Upon hearing these words, a line from a play suddenly floated through Xiao Qingyuan’s mind: “Concubine Ka, ever since I entered the palace, I have been exclusively favored by His Majesty. I often asked His Majesty to bestow his favor equally, but he was simply unwilling…”

A hint of suspicion, however, flashed in his eyes, so he probed: “Guanyin Nu, aren’t you worried they’ll steal your favor?”

Zhao Guanyin was stunned upon hearing this and blinked her eyes.

Suddenly, she playfully patted his chest in protest.

“Why would this concubine be angry? How could husband think of me this way?”

“Managing the household for husband and striving to expand the Xiao Clan Immortal Family’s lineage is, for this concubine, simply my duty.”

“Furthermore, with two younger sisters to share the burden, this concubine couldn’t be happier. Why are husband’s thoughts so strange?”

At this, her eyes suddenly reddened.

“Could it be that husband has grown tired of me, and wishes to pin one of the ‘Seven Grounds for Divorce’ on Guanyin Nu, and drive me out of the house?”

Hiss… Xiao Qingyuan gasped upon hearing this.

He immediately covered her small mouth, manually silencing and comforting her.

He soothed her until she was lost in passion.

Only then did he manage to calm her down.

Guanyin Nu wasn’t truly angry, and that very day, she proactively sent people to bring Da Jiang and Xiao Jiang back.

She even personally pushed Xiao Qingyuan into the sisters’ room.

This clearly showed the status of women in the eyes of the world.

It was no wonder his Aunt fought so desperately not to marry.

His Aunt even brought a son-in-law into the family, even though she had no affection for that uncle at the time.

As the beneficiary, Xiao Qingyuan had no intention of contending with the entire secular world.

He continued as always, drawing Talismans, Cultivating, and buying delicious food for his family.

Occasionally, he would report another increase in his Talisman drawing success rate, and then have Guanyin Nu take the Talismans to the old man to claim rewards.

It was somewhat like showing off a report card every now and then.

Especially a few days ago, when he released the news of reaching the fifth Rank of Qi Condensation, directly shocking the entire Xiao Clan Immortal Family.

In his joy, the old man immediately gave him a huge sum of three hundred Spirit Stones.

It made him incredibly happy.

No choice.

Aside from the first time, he had again asked his mother to buy two more spiritual fruits and a drop of millennial stone milk for Zhao Guanyin.

His own mother even looked a little jealous.

He was truly out of money.

Fortunately, he also gained many benefits, and his Aptitude increased again.

In a blink of an eye, he Broke through to the sixth Rank of Qi Condensation.

And so, several months quickly passed.

Until this day, which finally brought the day of Guanyin Nu’s childbirth…