After some time, the front door slowly opened.
A beautiful middle-aged woman emerged from behind it. A faint smile graced her face, and her features bore a seven- or eight-tenths resemblance to Ye Lingling's, though her bearing was more mature and elegant.
"Lingling, you're back."
The moment Ye Qinru opened the door, she saw her precious daughter and felt a surge of joy.
But soon, she noticed Fang Xuan standing beside her precious daughter.
Her expression changed at once. When she saw that Ye Lingling was holding his hand, her brows furrowed slightly.
"Lingling, who is this?"
Ye Qinru didn't react too strongly. She simply asked who Fang Xuan was.
"Hello, Auntie. My name is Fang Xuan. I'm Lingling's boyfriend."
Fang Xuan immediately made his identity clear. After all, they weren't married yet, nor had he received his future mother-in-law's approval, so he and Ye Lingling couldn't be considered husband and wife.
"Boyfriend? Since when? Why didn't I know?"
Ye Qinru's brows drew together more tightly. Then, in the next moment, she noticed that something was wrong with Ye Lingling.
"Lingling, you!"
Just as Fang Xuan had expected, Ye Qinru had noticed that something was amiss with Ye Lingling too.
The frown on her face turned to anger.
"Did you do this?!"
"Mom, listen to me. It's not what you think..."
Seeing her mother's extreme reaction, Ye Lingling panicked and tried to explain things on Fang Xuan's behalf, but Fang Xuan tugged at her from behind.
He shook his head, telling her not to say anything more.
Ye Qinru's reaction was even stronger than he'd expected. Although he'd prepared himself for this, he still felt nervous now that it was happening.
Maybe this was the anxiety a man felt when meeting his future mother-in-law for the first time.
Especially when it came to someone like Ye Qinru, who had raised her child alone as both mother and father. Her oppressive presence was terrifying.
"Lingling, get over here!"
Seeing how fiercely her daughter was defending the other man, Ye Qinru's expression darkened. She stepped forward and pulled Ye Lingling to her side.
Fang Xuan didn't stop her. He simply stood there in silence.
"Aunt Ye, this was my fault. Lingling had nothing to do with it."
"I came here to take responsibility for what happened."
"Take responsibility? How? With your life?!"
The anger on Ye Qinru's face didn't abate. Her daughter had only gone out once, and she'd lost her virginity to someone Ye Qinru had never even met.
Now the man had come to her door, saying he wanted to make things right. Any mother would have been furious in her place.
"Mom!"
Ye Lingling panicked. Her mother's reaction had completely exceeded her expectations. She really seemed ready to kill Fang Xuan.
"Shut up! How could I have a shameless daughter like you? How did I raise you?"
"I taught you to respect and cherish yourself. Is this what you call respecting and cherishing yourself?"
"Aunt Ye, please calm down. This isn't what you think."
Just then, Dugu Yan's voice came from afar.
The next moment, a tall, handsome middle-aged man appeared nearby with Dugu Yan.
Dugu Yan hadn't expected Fang Xuan to confront Ye Qinru so quickly. Hadn't she told him to wait for her?
Was he in such a hurry to get himself killed?
"Family Head Ye, please calm down. Yanyan has already told me what happened. It's not as bad as you think. Just do me a favor and let the boy finish explaining, all right?"
Dugu Bo immediately spoke up to plead Fang Xuan's case.
The two had never met, but he trusted his granddaughter. She wouldn't make something like this up to fool him.
Besides, Fang Xuan seemed to know how to solve the poison that had troubled him for years. No matter what, he couldn't let anything happen to him here.
At Dugu Bo's personal request, Ye Qinru forced herself to calm down.
After all, what had happened couldn't be undone. Getting angry wouldn't change anything.
"Then I'll do it for Senior Dugu's sake. Someone, take the young lady inside and keep a close eye on her."
With that, Ye Qinru ordered the servants to take Ye Lingling inside.
Ye Lingling didn't want to go, but she was no match for her mother. No matter how much she cried and shouted, it was no use.
Ye Qinru was as unyielding as a turtle with a weight in its mouth, her mind made up.
If the man didn't give her a satisfactory explanation today, she'd make sure he bled right there on the spot.
The door closed, completely cutting Ye Lingling off from everyone outside.
"Go on. I'll give you a chance to explain."
Ye Qinru unleashed her full aura. Even Dugu Bo couldn't help furrowing his brows. From the looks of things, this wasn't going to end well.
Dugu Yan looked anxiously at Fang Xuan, unable to stop worrying about him.
Then, in the next moment, Fang Xuan's straight back slowly bent.
He dropped to his knees and bowed deeply to Ye Qinru, striking his head against the ground with a loud thud.
If he was going to admit fault, he had to show the right attitude. Besides, what he'd done was serious. He deserved to kneel.
He raised his head, his gaze growing resolute. Then he began to recount everything that had happened, leaving nothing out.
"Auntie, that's everything that happened. I came back to tell you the whole story and accept the responsibility that falls to me."
"Please let Lingling marry me. I swear upon my Martial Soul that I'll never betray her!"
Fang Xuan spoke earnestly, but Ye Qinru remained unmoved.
She'd heard words like that before. Once, a man had said the same thing to her. But what had come of it?
"Don't tell me things that mean nothing. Don't think I'll let Lingling marry you just because you slept together."
"I, Ye Qinru, can provide for her. I can support her for the rest of her life if I have to."
"If you think you can use this to threaten me, stop dreaming."
With that, Ye Qinru turned to leave, making Dugu Yan anxious.
"Aunt Ye, I'm responsible too. I should have kept a closer eye on Lingling that day. That's why this happened."
"I know what happened, and he truly loves Lingling. Please give him a chance."
"He's a genius, and he knows a thing or two about medicine. I've already asked my grandfather to take him as his disciple. With that status, he should be worthy of Lingling."
"If he ever does anything to hurt Lingling, I'll be the first to deal with him. And if you have any other conditions, you can name them."
Dugu Yan kept pleading Fang Xuan's case. She wasn't the sort to take someone's money and do nothing. More importantly, she didn't want to see her good friend forced apart from the person she loved over this.
"What happened has happened. Now we have to deal with it instead of shutting it out."
"Family Head Ye, how about giving the boy a chance? Consider it a favor from me, his master."
Dugu Bo was at his wits' end. If Fang Xuan hadn't been useful, and if his granddaughter hadn't kept pleading for him, he wouldn't have said something like this.
Besides, he'd never agreed to take Fang Xuan as his disciple. How had his granddaughter already arranged it for him?
She's my own granddaughter. If I don't spoil her, who will?
It was only the title of disciple. He could give it to Fang Xuan, then take it back later.
But this time, Ye Qinru didn't give either Dugu Bo or Dugu Yan any face.
"Senior Dugu, this is a family matter. Please don't interfere."
Then Ye Qinru looked down at Fang Xuan, still kneeling on the ground, and spoke coldly.
"Don't say I never gave you a chance. Seven days. If you stay here for the next seven days, I'll give you that chance. Otherwise, go back where you came from!"