Line Up

Ya Fei had written this item on the list two days earlier: After the ceremony, the groom would leave, and the Pill Tower would entertain the guests. She had even added a small line beside it: Young master was not allowed to stay behind and make polite conversation. Not a single word.

Xuan Jin had asked her why that day.

"Because the moment you open your mouth, those people will start trying to worm their way in," Ya Fei said bluntly. "Today is your big day, not a day for them to build connections."

So after the ceremony, Xuan Jin turned and left.

The nine brides followed behind him in a line toward the Inner Academy. Their red skirts swept across the bluestone ground, pressing the crabapple petals Zi Yan had shaken down earlier into a trail of marks.

The front hall immediately descended into chaos.

The Pill Tower Ancestor leaped down from his grand chair and ran two steps barefoot across the bluestone floor before Xuan Kongzi grabbed him by the collar and lifted him back.

"Ancestor, your shoes."

"Hot."

"Today..."

"If you dare say it's cloudy, I'll burn all your pill formulas."

Tian Lei Zi stood nearby with a dark expression, straightening his sleeves. When he looked up, he saw the two Yao Clan elders already approaching with wine cups in hand.

He lowered his voice. "Xuan Kongzi, they're here."

"Let them come." Xuan Kongzi stuffed the candied hawthorn back into the Pill Tower Ancestor's hand. "Ancestor, sit properly."

The Pill Tower Ancestor sat properly, his legs swinging from the chair so wildly that no one dared look twice.

The Yao Clan elders came forward with their toast. Their words were beautifully phrased, circling around three times before finally settling on one sentence:

"The Yao Clan's foundation has