Chapter 95

"Did Father fall over then?"

"Yes. He was so happy, saying that he had finally won and that he thought you couldn't go to Hangzhou like this..."

"What did he say? What did he want to talk about?"

"He said let's live together. Let's live together in peace and harmony."

Wei Zhiqing said this and gently stroked his daughter's hair, who was looking up at him.

Although the daughter resembled Dan Muxian more in her face, the shape of her earlobes and the way her eyebrows curved when she smiled reminded him of him.

"So, that's how you ended up marrying Mother?"

"Yes. We came to Hangzhou, and we had our Lian, and then we had Bia..."

Wei Zhiqing smiled quietly without finishing his sentence.

At first, she had refused Dan Muxian's proposal.

With her days numbered and having nothing, living off the charity of her half-brother, a disciple of Huashan Sect, how could she become anyone's bride?

Especially when the other party was the eldest son of a prestigious family, it was even more out of the question.

— I'm not much different, with my days numbered too.

The young man smiled with a twisted expression but spoke politely. Wei Zhiqing had guessed as much.

The resigned look in the eyes of those with little time left is something that can't be hidden no matter how hard one tries.

— So, it's not right to bring a healthy person into the family and make them a widow, is it? And I can't go around the neighborhood shouting that I'm about to die and asking them to stop sending matchmakers.

— So, you thought it was a good idea for people who are about to die to live together in peace and harmony?

— I thought it was a good plan. Wouldn't your brother be relieved?

That's right.

With his sickly sister on the brink of death, how could his mind be at ease even if he became a Taoist of Huashan Sect?

Thinking about it, she gradually began to agree with Dan Muxian's plan.

— But what about the heir of the Gui family? I probably can't have children.

— I have a sister and a younger brother. What's there to worry about? The living will take care of it.

Dan Muxian, sensing that Wei Zhiqing was moved, finally smiled brightly.

— Phew, I was worried every time, thinking you might lose. Did you just eat and play Go all day?

— Something like that.

But who would have known that fate would leave her here alone.

Wei Zhiqing stroked Lian's cheek and smiled.

"At that time, I kept thinking it was fortunate that I let you win."

* * *

While preparations for the Jinghang Yunlian were being made, Dan Muxian Yao almost fainted when she saw the luggage Dan Muxian had packed for Lian.

"Head Lady! This... this is...!"

Looking at Lian's simple and clean, or rather, stark white clothes, Dan Muxian Yao sighed.

"Frugal... I understand Head Lady's intention, but the Jinghang Yunlian is a gathering of young stars. If she goes dressed so... shabbily... won't people think the Dan family is so poor they can't even afford decent clothes for their children?"

Wei Zhiqing smiled awkwardly.

Dan Muxian Yao looked down at the stark white clothes in front of her and rubbed her face.

"Lian has made a lot of money from Qinglian Shu. Why not use it to buy some nice clothes...?"

"But it's Lian's money. Can I just spend it freely?"

"But this is for Lian!"

"True, but Lian said she wants to use the money to raise children and grow the security company..."

Dan Muxian Yao had heard this story. Dan Muxian didn't hide her intentions to grow the family business.

"No, we can't spend all of Lian's money on that! Of course, we will contribute, but she's going to go dressed in these stark white clothes?"

"White clothes are like a symbol of the Dan family, so it should be fine, right?"

The Dan family did prefer white clothes, but they weren't this stark white.

Their symbol, the 'white clothes,' were made of pure white silk embroidered with silver threads, shining like a snowy field!

"Of course, it's not fine! And..."

Dan Muxian Yao pressed her forehead.

When she tried to extend the family's influence in Henan Province, there were always people who looked at her unfavorably.

People who saw her as the worst villainess for trying to take the place of her deceased brother's children.

If she dressed her deceased brother's first daughter shabbily and her own daughter luxuriously, what would people say?

"Last time when the children went out, and when we went to Jinjiazhuang, I told you to dress them well."

She didn't want to be compared, and she didn't want both children to be dressed shabbily.

Dan Muxian's childhood was only about ten years left, and Dan Muxian Yao wanted to give her everything beautiful and splendid during that time.

Dan Muxian Yao pressed her brows and said firmly,

"I'll take care of Lian's clothes."

"To that extent..."

"It's fine because my in-laws are wealthy. Head Lady's in-laws are still recovering, so I'll take care of it for now."

With only half a month left before departure, how many sets of clothes could she make for Lian?

Moreover, it's not just Lian's clothes. What about what Dan Muxian Wu will wear?

"Um, is that... really important?"

Wei Zhiqing asked cautiously. Dan Muxian Yao jumped as if she had been stabbed.

"Even if we're going to Shaolin Temple instead of the Jinghang Yunlian, clothes are important! You might think I'm a materialist, trying to show off with fancy clothes and jewelry. But if you don't show off, people will step on you."

They will mock you for not being able to afford decent clothes, measure your wealth by your jewelry, and think you lack education because you have no money!

"The ancient sages' words about maintaining dignity even in shabby clothes are good. But why are they the words of ancient sages? Because reality is different!"

After shouting, she realized it wasn't worth getting so worked up.

Dan Muxian Yao blushed and hesitated.

'But always me.'

In the family, only Dan Muxian Yao cared about appearances.

Her respected brother, who married a poor, sickly orphan, was content with a single lily of the valley in her ear and always wore a gentle smile, which always hurt Dan Muxian Yao.

It felt like he was saying that inner beauty was more important than the jewelry she wore.

It felt like he was saying that her rough and sharp inner self couldn't be hidden by any silk.

She knew it was jealousy, but it didn't make her feel any better.

"No... that's not what I meant. I don't really understand these things."

This time, Dan Muxian Yao really felt stabbed.

No one knew better than her about Wei Zhiqing's circumstances.

She was the one who had prepared and organized everything needed for Wei Zhiqing's wedding.

When Wei Zhiqing came to the Dan family, she really had nothing.

Even her half-brother, who was all she had, became a Taoist in Huashan.

"That's why if it's really important, I think it's right for me to take care of Lian's clothes myself. Last time when we went to Jinjiazhuang, we relied on the kindness of the Waidangzhu."

"Ah..."

"Can you introduce me to a good tailor?"

"Of course. I was worried what you would say if I didn't think of introducing you."

Feeling unnecessarily emotional, Dan Muxian Yao nodded stiffly.

* * *

It was a damp and dim space.

A man slowly rose in a place where the smell of rotting meat, blood, and dozens of incense scents mixed together.

A withered lump fell from the man's hand.

"..."

The man's lips were red and fresh, but his face was impossible to age.

In the flickering light, he seemed to be in his thirties, but his wise eyes made him look like he was in his fifties, and his exposed fingertips looked like those of a twenty-year-old young master who had never done a day's work.

The man got up and kicked the lump at his feet away. The thud made the people outside the room hold their breath.

When the man opened the door, the people in the corridor immediately prostrated themselves. The corridor was filled with the stench of corpses, the smell of blood, and the incense burned to suppress the smell.

"Lord Gu, did you cough?"

"Lord Gu, did you cough?"

The prostrate people, emaciated and with eyes gleaming with madness, looked at the man with admiration and longing.