Across both his past life and his present one, Chen Zhuo had seen countless bewitching beauties.
Yet when he saw Ye Lingling, he still froze for a moment before coming back to his senses.
Realizing he had lost his composure, he merely smiled.
As long as he did not feel awkward, the awkwardness belonged to someone else.
Ye Xi and her daughter, Ye Lingling, were also quietly sizing Chen Zhuo up.
They marveled at his exceptional bearing.
His looks and presence far surpassed those of Dugu Bo and his son, Dugu Xin.
More than anything, though, they were curious.
Judging by Dugu Bo's usual behavior, it was plain to see how dearly he treasured the young man before them.
He even kept him from having much contact with the outside world.
As for why the young man's surname had not been changed back,
that was a private matter for Dugu Manor, with nothing to do with outsiders like them.
They would not be foolish enough to tactlessly pry into such personal matters during conversation.
Besides, Dugu Bo was already famous for his eccentric temperament.
Whatever he did, no one found it surprising.
They had both heard the story.
Old Dugu Bo had traveled all the way to the enemy nation, the Star Luo Empire, to buy whale rubber.
The version that eventually spread was that, after spending half his life running about, Dugu Bo had found a cure for the jade phosphorous serpent poison that plagued his family.
Now he was enjoying a second spring.
That had stirred up quite a few noblewomen in the imperial capital.
Their imaginations had begun running wild.
During that period, the rouge and powder shops had made money hand over fist.
It had become quite the amusing tale in Heaven Dou.
"You young people have a chat."
Ye Xi patted the back of Ye Lingling's hand to reassure her.
There were too many household matters to handle and too many guests to entertain. She could not stay here the whole time.
Only once the moon had climbed above the branches did she see off the last guest.
Ye Xi rubbed between her brows and let out a long breath.
Exhaustion surged through her like a tide.
After hearing the steward's report, she gave instructions for the following day, finally bringing the day's business to a close.
She returned to the inner quarters of the manor.
Seeing that Ye Lingling had yet to go to bed only made her heart ache more.
"Lingling, what did you think of Miss Yan'er's younger brother, the one you met today?"
"What do you mean?"
No one knew a mother better than her daughter.
Ye Lingling answered casually at first, then seemed to realize what she meant.
"What are you thinking, Mother? We only met for the first time today," she said, a little flustered.
Ye Xi sighed. "Your mother is useless. This is all my fault."
A marriage alliance was indeed a good way to resolve the family's predicament.
She knew Marshal Ge Long's temperament all too well.
He was headstrong and vindictive, repaying even the smallest slight.
The man was exactly like his martial soul: once he set his mind on something, changing it was exceedingly difficult.
If the Ye Family wanted to weather this crisis,
and truly sought a marriage alliance, then apart from the imperial family's two princes, there was only one suitable candidate in the entire Heaven Dou Empire.
That was the young master of Dugu Manor, whom they had happened to meet today.
The three sages of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy were not among Ye Xi's considerations.
None of those three would offend Marshal Ge Long's vast network of military influence for the sake of her family.
Prince Xue Beng could be ruled out immediately.
No parents from a respectable family would willingly marry their daughter to a wastrel.
As for Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, the position of crown princess was beyond the Ye Family's reach.
Even if the crown prince himself agreed, Xue Ye would never consent.
At the very least, the nation's future empress had to be chosen from among the daughters of titled nobles or dukes.
Such a marriage would serve to counterbalance Marshal Ge Long, whose prominence was unrivaled.
The Ye Family simply lacked that kind of standing.
Ye Xi realized with despair that, if they truly pursued a marriage alliance,
among her daughter's peers, Dugu Manor was their only and best choice.
And even then, it all depended on whether Dugu Bo agreed.
If they did not take the path of a marriage alliance, the best solution Ye Xi could think of was to seek refuge with Spirit Hall.
She would sell off the family assets, then use the money to find a place in Spirit City where they could settle down and build a life.
Even with ten times his courage, Marshal Ge Long would not dare go to Spirit City to cause trouble.
But that path also came with tremendous risks and factors beyond their control.
What should I do?
Ye Xi gritted her teeth and decided to stake everything.
But she would not sacrifice her daughter.
Instead, she would set aside her own pride to give her daughter more choices in the future.
She was not particularly old yet.
Whether she brought a husband into the family or remarried, neither would be difficult to arrange.
"Mother, take a look at this."
Ye Lingling suddenly spoke, breaking through Ye Xi's tangled thoughts.
"Who gave you this?"
Ye Xi looked at the jade box. Inside lay a specimen of nine-grade purple ganoderma of exceptional quality.
"Young Master Chen gave it to me in passing."
"And Mother, guess what level Sister Yan'er's soul power is now?"
Ye Xi knew Dugu Yan's age. She was not yet twenty.
"Around level thirty?"
She offered a tentative answer.
"No. Guess again."
Seeing Ye Lingling reject her guess, she could only imagine something even more optimistic. "Surely she isn't almost level thirty-five?"
As Ye Lingling looked at Ye Xi, the playful expression vanished from her face.
"Sister Yan'er showed me the results of her recent cultivation today."
"A level-forty quasi-soul ancestor!"
"How is that possible?"
Her daughter did not seem to be joking, but Ye Xi still found it shocking and unbelievable.
After all, the two most outstanding prodigies of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's current generation
were two or three years older than Dugu Yan, yet had only just reached that soul power level.
Dugu Yan was gifted, but how could she rival the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's strongest heirs of this generation?
Unless...
Looking at the superb medicinal herb in the jade box, a plant she had never even seen before, she murmured, "Unless the rumors are true..."
"I think they are."
Ye Lingling gave Ye Xi another earth-shattering piece of news.
Dugu Yan's martial soul was no longer her family's inherited jade phosphorous serpent martial soul.
Ye Lingling picked up the nine-grade purple ganoderma, broke off a small piece, refined it with her soul power, then put it into her mouth.
She ate the entire nine-grade purple ganoderma as though it were a snack.
Her soul power level rose from twenty-eight to twenty-nine.
"Mother, I need some money."
"How much?"
"At least ten million!"
Ye Xi did not ask why Ye Lingling suddenly wanted such a large sum.
She knew her daughter had always had a mind of her own.
"All right. I'll have the accounts office give you twenty million."
"If that isn't enough, let me know."
Ye Xi understood that money only had value when it could be spent to obtain something worthwhile.
The worst outcome was to die and leave all the money one had painstakingly saved for someone else to spend.
"After I left, what did the young master of Dugu Manor say to you?" Ye Xi asked.
Her greatest fear was that Chen Zhuo was the same kind of man as Ge Long.
That he had deliberately approached her daughter with an ulterior motive.
"I don't think he's particularly interested in me." Ye Lingling shook her head.
Having grown up in noble circles, reading expressions and gauging moods was a basic skill etched into her bones.
"But I've already become interested in him."
She had known Crown Prince Xue Qinghe since childhood.
That man, who liked wearing gloves, was always courteous and refined.
Just like the swan martial soul passed down through the Heaven Dou Imperial Family,
his conduct was always graceful and proper.
He was so perfect that it frightened her.
Ye Lingling turned to look out the window. The cedar leaves in the courtyard had already turned red.
If she had a choice, she would not become Xue Qinghe's concubine.
Even if she were fortunate enough to become crown princess someday, she would not want it.
Just as her mother had not chosen Ge Long back then, despite his clearly superior talent and potential.
Even after he became a marshal and reached the highest rank a subject could attain, her mother had never shown a trace of regret.
Now it was her turn to make a choice.
She would buy herself a way forward.
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