"Oh, come on, don't be mad. Mom was just worried about you."
Looking at Ye Lingling sitting there in a huff, Ye Qinru could only smile helplessly.
"Son-in-law, help me talk her around. You know I didn't do it on purpose. I was just worried you young people wouldn't know when to stop, so..."
"You're still talking!"
Ye Lingling bristled. She was already embarrassed enough, and now her mother had brought it up again.
"Hey, hey, Lingling, don't get worked up. Mom was only looking out for you. Don't be mad; you'll break out in pimples, and then you won't look pretty."
Seeing this, Fang Xuan hurriedly pulled Ye Lingling to his side and tried to smooth things over with a smile.
"Look at how thoughtful my son-in-law is! Speaking of which, when have you two decided to get married? I can start making the arrangements."
Ye Qinru liked Fang Xuan more and more by the minute.
You could say things had swung to the opposite extreme: she'd disliked him that much before, and now she liked him just as much.
"So soon? Isn't that a little rushed?"
"Actually, there's no need to hurry with this sort of thing. We could wait a couple of years."
Fang Xuan knew that Douluo Continent was still in a feudal era, where getting married at their age was perfectly normal.
And because they were Soul Masters, they were physically strong. They wouldn't be at risk of dying from something like a difficult childbirth.
Even so, he still felt it was too soon. Back then, he'd been so focused on winning over his future mother-in-law that he hadn't had time to think about what came next.
The subject had come up so suddenly that he was caught off guard.
"Too soon? Have you any idea what your reputation is like out there? Believe me, if you don't marry my daughter before you leave, someone will come drag you back in no time."
"Huh?! Wait, what's going on?"
He'd only been unconscious for three days. How had things gotten to this point?
Seeing Fang Xuan's confusion, Ye Qinru explained what was happening, leaving him speechless.
Well, look at that. I've become the empire's poster boy for romance.
"Now you understand why I'm pushing you to get married, right? Besides, you've already done everything a couple should do. What are you waiting for if you don't get married?"
"Wouldn't it be better to make it official? What, do you just like getting everything for free?"
Fang Xuan's mouth twitched. It wasn't that she was wrong, but she was putting it a little too bluntly.
"Then... Mom, what kind of betrothal gifts would you like?"
Since there was no getting out of it, he'd follow the proper etiquette.
"Betrothal gifts? What do I need those for? Just give me something token."
"Besides, she's my only daughter. It'll all go to her in the end anyway."
But as soon as she'd said that, Ye Qinru seemed to think of something. She looked at Fang Xuan and went on.
"Also, Dugu Bo is your master, isn't he? They say a disciple is half a son, so have him pay for your betrothal gifts. Remember, it has to come from him. I don't want your money."
What a joke. Ye Qinru remembered how Dugu Bo had tried to steal her son-in-law away. She had to get her revenge somehow.
Besides, taking Fang Xuan's money would just be moving it from one hand to the other. She'd end up with the same amount either way. To make a profit, she needed to get it from somewhere else.
As a shrewd and capable businesswoman, Ye Qinru had to make sure she negotiated the best deal for her daughter.
"..."
He'd somehow become Dugu Bo's disciple out of nowhere. Who could he even complain to about that?
Still, being the man's disciple didn't sound too bad. He was a Titled Douluo, after all, and would make a pretty good backer.
Besides, Dugu Bo seemed like a decent person. And with Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling being friends, they'd be in contact sooner or later anyway.
"Oh, right. There's one more thing I need to make clear to you both."
At that, Ye Qinru's easygoing manner vanished, and she grew serious.
She glanced first at Ye Lingling beside her, then at Fang Xuan, and spoke slowly, one word at a time.
"I'll allow you to take other wives, but Lingling's children must bear the Ye surname."
Ye Qinru had thought about this for a long time. She'd been turning it over in her mind while Fang Xuan was unconscious, and now she'd finally decided to say it aloud.
She didn't want Fang Xuan to have no descendants, but she also didn't want her own family line to die out.
At first, she'd wanted him to marry into the family. But given Fang Xuan's circumstances, asking him to do that would have been far too much.
An eighteen-year-old Soul King—what kind of genius was that?
Her family wasn't important enough to make such a demand. In truth, her family was the one benefiting from this arrangement. Given her daughter's situation, it would've been impossible to find a match with such excellent prospects otherwise.
In the current situation, even if Fang Xuan agreed, Ye Qinru wouldn't. They were already the ones in the wrong, and making such a demand would be too unreasonable.
In the end, she'd come up with this solution. Taking several wives was normal in this era, after all.
Among the nobility, it was common to have three wives and four concubines. Ye Qinru trusted Fang Xuan, and believed that even if he married more women, he wouldn't mistreat her daughter.
Besides, if she let a genius like him die without descendants, people would point fingers at her until the day she died.
Ye Lingling's future children might even be affected by it, so they had to settle this matter.
"Mom, actually, I..."
"I agree."
Fang Xuan had been about to say he didn't need to, but Ye Lingling spoke first.
"Lingling, you..."
"Axuan, I know how much you love me, but I feel the same way as my mother."
"You're a genius, and carrying on your bloodline is important."
"I can't hold you back. Think of it as doing it for me, and for our future children."
Ye Lingling was utterly resolute, leaving Fang Xuan with no way to argue.
The constraints of the era had shaped their way of thinking. There was nothing strange about Ye Lingling and her mother seeing things this way.
He just genuinely didn't care about any of that. After all, he planned to become a god someday.
But if he told Ye Lingling and her mother that now, they'd probably just think he was dreaming.
"Th-then all right. But I have one condition: I choose the women myself. Don't go arranging things for me."
People from a feudal society could be terrifying. What if they brought back dozens of women in the name of continuing his bloodline? Wouldn't he be drained dry?
"Fine, but you'll have to bring them back so I can meet them. Don't you go keeping a mistress in secret."
Ye Qinru knew all too well what men got up to.
Besides, not just anyone could share a husband with her daughter.
Beauty alone wasn't enough. They needed to have something else going for them.
In the world of Soul Masters, strength ruled. Everything else was just talk.
After a friendly discussion among the three of them, they settled on a date.
There wasn't much time. The wedding would be in three days.
Ye Qinru had her servants deliver the wedding invitations she'd prepared to the great noble houses of Heaven Dou City.
She'd spent years making connections in Heaven Dou City and had ties with all sorts of factions.
There were plenty of people she could invite. Whether they came or not was another matter, but they had to go through the motions.
Naturally, they sent one to Dugu Bo too. In his case, though, they sent an extra one.
"Well, that was quick. But what's this?"
Dugu Bo looked at the wedding invitation and was about to comment when he noticed the most bizarre thing he'd ever seen.
"Wait, why am I the one who has to prepare the betrothal gifts for his wedding?"
"What do you mean, 'a disciple is half a son'? Since I'm his master, it's only right that I pay for the betrothal gifts."
"I haven't even received that brat's apprenticeship gift yet. I..."
At that moment, Dugu Bo finally understood what it meant to bring a stone down on your own foot. And there was another saying: never provoke a woman.
He'd publicly acknowledged Fang Xuan as his disciple in front of all those people. Now it was too late to expel him from the sect.
It wasn't that Dugu Bo was unwilling to pay. It was just that Ye Qinru was asking for far too much.
"I'm so mad! Where's that brat Yu Tianheng? I'm going to beat him up today to let off some steam."
"Is it really that hard for him to come bow at my door? What's wrong with my Yanyan compared to that girl from the Ye Family? He clearly doesn't take me seriously."
"He's got a death wish!"
And so, the world where Yu Tianheng was the only one to get hurt came to be.