The Miao Family Women

The following morning.

Knock, knock—

Jiang Fu'an stood before the small courtyard gate and gently knocked on the wooden door.

When he had brought the Miao Family group home last night, dusk had been drawing near.

After settling them in this vacant little courtyard, he had not lingered.

They should have rested enough by now. It was time to discuss serious matters.

Faint footsteps sounded from within.

Before long, the courtyard gate creaked open a crack, revealing a face.

Jiang Fu'an could not help but freeze.

Standing behind the door was a girl of sixteen or seventeen, her skin as fair as fresh snow and her eyes bright with liveliness.

She was actually even more striking than his own wife, Su Wanqing.

He thought carefully. There had not seemed to be such a girl among that group yesterday.

A dazzling smile blossomed on the girl's lips.

"Master, you've come. Please, come in!"

The moment Jiang Fu'an heard that voice, he recognized her.

Wasn't this the woman who had wrapped her head in a scarf yesterday and questioned his intentions?

As he stepped over the threshold, he smiled and said,

"Well? Is this courtyard spacious enough for you?"

The girl's cheeks instantly flushed red as she recalled how she had questioned whether there would be enough room yesterday.

She hurriedly waved her hands.

"Enough, enough! Your little courtyard is so spacious, Master. There are more than ten rooms—we have more than enough space."

As they spoke, the two crossed the courtyard and made their way to the sitting room.

Yet the sight within made Jiang Fu'an freeze once more—

He recognized the two five- or six-year-old boys hunched over the table eating breakfast, but what was with the six women seated beside them?

Their clothes were plain, yet unable to conceal their grace. Some were gentle, some lovely, some dignified, some cool and aloof...

Every single one of them was no less beautiful than Su Wanqing!

When the beautiful woman in red seated in the middle saw him, she hurriedly rose and warmly greeted him.

"Master, you've come. Please, have a seat."

Jiang Fu'an swept his gaze over them and asked in confusion,

"You are... Why didn't I see any of you yesterday?"

"My apologies, Master."

The beautiful woman in red dipped into a slight curtsy, an apologetic expression on her face.

"As a group of widows and children traveling abroad, we faced many inconveniences, so we disguised ourselves a little."

She paused, then introduced herself.

"I am Yan-shi, the concubine of Miao Yunshen from the Bamboo Mountain Miao Family. I was also the old woman who spoke with you yesterday."

Jiang Fu'an was startled inwardly—what an impressive disguise!

That wrinkled old woman with the hoarse voice yesterday had actually been such a graceful beauty?

The woman in red pointed to the other five women and continued her introduction.

"These sisters hold the same status as I do. They are all Miao Yunshen's concubines as well."

She then pointed at the girl who had led Jiang Fu'an inside.

"This is my daughter, Miao Ruolan."

Finally, she looked toward the two little boys.

"As for these two little ones, they are the sons of two other sisters. One is called Miao Ruoshan, and the other is called Miao Ruohai."

Outwardly, Jiang Fu'an remained calm, smiling as he nodded greetings to each of them.

But inwardly, he could not help but sigh.

That Miao Yunshen, whom he had never met, truly had enviable fortune to possess so many lovely concubines.

Once the introductions were finished, he asked,

"Then where is your husband, Miao Yunshen? Did he not come with you this time?"

The instant the words left his mouth, the smile on Yan-shi's face dimmed.

She lowered her eyes, and her voice softened.

"He was a cultivator. Half a year ago, he perished while fighting an enemy."

That's good!

Hearing this, Jiang Fu'an secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If the man were still alive and came looking for them someday, only to see that Jiang Fu'an had taken in his wives and concubines—

If he suspected there was something improper between them, it would be impossible to explain.

Jiang Fu'an gave a light cough and turned the conversation back to business.

"My condolences, everyone. Let Jiang also tell you about my own circumstances.

"My name is Jiang Fu'an. I was originally an ordinary farmer. A year ago, my daughter was fortunate enough to be found to possess a Spiritual Root and was accepted as a disciple by the Melodious Sound Sect.

"The imperial court rewarded us with a sum of silver, and Jiang used that money to build this residence.

"Jiang intends to take this opportunity to build up the family.

"Unfortunately, there are too few people available to help, which is why Jiang invited you all here yesterday."

Yan-shi exchanged glances with the sisters beside her, and understanding flashed through their eyes.

In truth, they had still been whispering among themselves in their room last night.

Just who was this master?

Why had he suddenly invited complete strangers like them?

And why did he happen to have an empty courtyard ready to house them?

There were too many coincidences, making them suspect that he had planned it all in advance.

Now that they had heard Jiang Fu'an's explanation, more than half of their doubts vanished at once.

Jiang Fu'an continued,

"Since your husband was once a cultivator, do you happen to know any skills related to cultivation?"

Yan-shi knew that whether her family could remain here depended on her answer.

She did not dare conceal anything and answered truthfully,

"Naturally, we do. Tending Spiritual Fields, caring for herb gardens, raising Half-Spirit Beasts, making talisman paper... We know a little about all such basic work."

The information Fu Yuan had provided was indeed correct.

Having received confirmation, Jiang Fu'an's eyes lit up, and he asked,

"Jiang does not yet have any Spiritual Fields or herb gardens, so let us set those aside for now.

"What materials are needed to make talisman paper? Is it troublesome to make?"

At those words, Yan-shi's lips curved slightly into a faint smile.

"Master, you've asked the right people. What our Miao Family excels at most is making talisman paper from spirit bamboo.

"Besides that, spiritwood and spirit beast hides are also commonly used materials.

"As for the difficulty... First-grade talisman paper is manageable. After studying for a while, ordinary people like us can begin making it."

Spirit bamboo, spiritwood, spirit beast hides.

Jiang Fu'an frowned slightly—he had none of those things.

Spirit bamboo and spiritwood were said to grow in deep mountains with Spiritual Veins.

As for spirit beast hides, there was no need to mention them. No spirit beast was something an ordinary man like him could hunt.

Seeing his dilemma, Yan-shi added,

"Those materials are indeed precious and difficult to obtain.

"Actually, Half-Spirit Beast hides can also be used to make first-grade talisman paper. They simply have limited carrying capacity and can only be used to draw low-grade first-grade spells."

Though Jiang Fu'an did not understand what "low-grade first-grade" meant, as long as they could make talisman paper, it was a good start.

He made his decision at once.

"As it happens, Jiang keeps some Half-Spirit Beasts at home.

"If you can turn their hides into talisman paper, Jiang will take you in and pay you accordingly based on the quantity you produce."

Yan-shi's eyes brightened, and she hurriedly turned to look at her sisters.

When she saw them all nod lightly, she turned back, her tone certain.

"No problem. For us Miao Family members, this is no difficult task."

Just as they were speaking, a burst of footsteps suddenly came from the courtyard entrance.

Su Wanqing entered, holding Yue'er's hand.

Jiang Fu'an looked at the room full of women, each with her own charm, and his heart gave a thump—

This was bad.