"Come, Caiyi, try this."
"Come, Caiyi, this taste is the lightest, most suitable for you!"
"Caiyi, you must love this bamboo shoot strip..."
At the dining table, Mi Jiangxue kept placing food on Caiyi’s plate, piling it up like a small mountain in front of her.
"Mom, if you keep adding more, aren’t you going to need to switch to a basin for Caiyi!"
Ye Zhen muttered a remark, which made his mother, Mi Jiangxue, start feeling self-reproachful, "Look at me, I’m just too happy, aren’t I?"
"Come, Caiyi, whatever you don’t like, put it in mom’s bowl."
This scene made Ye Zhen both laugh and cry.
Nowadays, the Ye family was also considered a wealthy and noble family, yet his parents were used to being frugal and rarely consented to waste.
"It’s okay, I love all of it."
Unexpectedly, Caiyi was somewhat insistent.
What followed next stunned Ye Zhen even more.
Ye Zhen was familiar with Caiyi’s appetite—she usually ate very little, very blandly, just a toddler-sized small bowl.
But now, she had eaten nearly half of the mountain of food that Mi Jiangxue had piled onto her plate, about three to four times her usual amount of food.
Even so, Caiyi continued to eat carefully and determinedly, focusing intently on her meal.
Ye Zhen felt something was slightly off, yet he understood Caiyi’s character very well.
Apart from Ye Zhen and Caiyi herself, no one could force Caiyi to do something she didn’t want to do, and Ye Zhen could tell that she wasn’t the slightest bit upset.
"Caiyi, have you eaten enough?"
"Are you still enjoying your meal?" Seeing Caiyi put down her chopsticks, Mi Jiangxue bombarded her with a series of inquiries.
"Yes, I have eaten enough, Aunty, this was the best meal I’ve ever had."
"If you like it, then for the next few days, I’ll cook for you every day, so you can have enough!"
"Yes!"
Caiyi happily responded, but to Ye Zhen, something sounded off. Today, Caiyi’s mood seemed somewhat abnormal.
After dinner, Mi Jiangxue pulled Caiyi aside to chat, while Ye Zhen enjoyed a few cups of Spirit Brew with his father. Watching his father fall into a deep sleep, Ye Zhen also retired to rest.
However, Ye Zhen didn’t fall asleep right away, instead, he pondered his upcoming marriage with Caiyi.
According to Sect Leader Guo Qijing, as Ye Zhen was a prince of the empire and a True Disciple of Qiyun Sect, his wedding had to be grand and special. Moreover, he regarded Caiyi as his own daughter and couldn’t bear any slight against her, so the ceremony would spare no formality, Jianghu-style or not.
After informing his parents at home, he would have to start arranging the wedding, and thinking of the elaborate proceedings gave Ye Zhen a headache.
Suddenly, lying in bed, Ye Zhen’s brow abruptly raised, and a startling brilliance shot out from his half-closed eyes.
A wave of spiritual power flitted by; someone dared to sneak into Ye Mansion at night.
With a flicker of his figure, the window silently opened, and like a ghost, Ye Zhen floated out, immediately tracing the origin of the spiritual power wave.
"Caiyi?"
Upon identifying the figure on the rooftop, Ye Zhen was somewhat taken aback.
"What are you doing on the rooftop?"
"I couldn’t sleep, Brother Ye Zhen!"
"What’s the matter? Are you unhappy, or feeling unwell?"
"No." Caiyi gently rested her head against Ye Zhen’s chest.
"Brother Ye Zhen, did you always grow up beside Uncle and Aunt since you were a child?"
"Huh?"
"Were they always this good to you?"
"Who says that? When I was young, I often got spanked. But after the spanking, mom would always come and apply medicine."
"How did they spank you?" Caiyi asked curiously.
"See that willow tree at the gate? When dad was really mad, he’d break off a branch and use it right then.
"Do you resent uncle for beating you?"
"Resent?"
"How could I?"
"Looking back now, it seems Dad didn’t spank me enough when I was small. I was really naughty back then."
"I see..."
"Did Aunt always personally make your favorite dishes?"
"Of course."
Moved by Caiyi’s questions, Ye Zhen’s eyes filled with reminiscence, "Our family was quite ordinary then. Although we hardly lacked meat, my favorite was still the fried golden fish.
Every time she made fried golden fish, my dad would get so gloomy!"
"Why was uncle gloomy?"
"Because he didn’t get any. Mom wouldn’t let dad have some, she let me eat it all, saying eating more fish would make me smarter."
"Brother Ye Zhen, your family is really great..."
Caiyi’s light sigh changed Ye Zhen’s expression as he finally understood why Caiyi’s mood seemed unusual today.
Home!
It must be the joy and warmth of Ye Zhen’s family that made Caiyi think of her own origins, her own parents.
A year ago, that terrifying being surrounded by five-colored spiritual light that tore through the void suddenly flashed across Ye Zhen’s mind, along with one sentence the being had said.
"Caiyi wouldn’t be...."
Just as the thought arose, Ye Zhen extinguished it. It shouldn’t be possible.
"Caiyi, in the future, this will also be your home. If you like, we can come home more often...."
Caiyi didn’t speak, just quietly lay in Ye Zhen’s arms, her beautiful eyes half-opened, gazing at the distant and mysterious night sky.
For several days, Ye Zhen’s mother was as enthusiastic as ever.
The moment Caiyi stepped out of her room, she was immediately greeted with delicious meals. Not only that, Mi Jiangxue even went out of her way to inquire about Caiyi’s preferences, always smiling from ear to ear.
Even on Caiyi’s face, a clear smile appeared.
Not the usual faint smile, but one of genuine happiness.
Futhermore, almost every day, Mi Jiangxue would make a new set of clothes for Caiyi, personally sewing and adjusting them whenever they weren’t a perfect fit.
Even the typically aloof Caiyi was walking hand in hand with Mi Jiangxue, and sometimes, on a whim, Caiyi would even take Mi Jiangxue flying with her.
If the brothers and sisters of the Qiyun Sect saw Caiyi’s current demeanor, they would certainly be shocked.
Is this still the same Fairy Caiyi who was as serene as the clouds?
On the sixth day, early in the morning, Caiyi rode the Cloud Winged Tiger Cub with Mi Jiangxue straight into the Imperial Capital of Black Water Kingdom and shopped until evening before returning.
Not only was Mi Jiangxue completely transformed from head to toe, but the Ye Mansion was also crammed with new items, piling up like a small mountain.
The next day, when she had some free time, Mi Jiangxue went out visiting neighbors, proudly showing off her new clothes and telling everyone that her future daughter-in-law bought them for her.
Of course, Mi Jiangxue bragged mainly about the issue of who bought the clothes while completely omitting how much silver was spent on them.
All these were no longer worth boasting.
For example, the Prefectural Governor of Wusan County, even the State Governor of the Thirteen Counties of Northern Land coming every day to seek an audience with Ye Zhen at Ye Mansion, were no longer considered something to boast about.
During the first couple of days of Ye Zhen’s arrival, those who brought gifts to Ye Mansion formed a line several miles long.
Of course, all these people were turned away by Ye Zhen.
Not needed, nor desired!
"Brother Ye Zhen, tell me, where are my parents? Did they truly care for me? Home is so wonderful, why did they abandon me when I was a child?"
On the rooftop, embraced by Ye Zhen while looking at the stars, Caiyi murmured softly.
Amidst the murmurs, tears silently flowed down.
Ye Zhen knew that this return to Ye Mansion had touched the most tender and fragile part of Caiyi’s heart.
"There must have been a reason...."
"Caiyi, from now on, this will be your home...."
"When we get married, we’ll have our own little home. When we have children, maybe one, two, three, or even a bunch of little rascals, our home will definitely be livelier and better..."
"Who said I’m going to have children with you...." Caiyi said shyly.
Gently, Ye Zhen reached out, tenderly wiping the tear stains from Caiyi’s face.
Softly embracing Caiyi into his arms, Ye Zhen gazed at the night sky, murmuring, "From now on, I am your closest kin, and when we have a bunch of little rascals, we’ll have even more family..."
"Mmm....."
With a gentle affirmation, Caiyi snuggled up to Ye Zhen.
Suddenly, a mischievous smile appeared on Ye Zhen’s face, "If that’s the case, then we should start trying from now..."
Caiyi blushed deeply, but she didn’t refuse, letting Ye Zhen explore her.
Even the moon in the sky seemed shy about the scene, hiding behind the clouds.
Before long, Ye Zhen, flushed like a drifting catkin, embraced the blushing Caiyi and floated into the bedroom.
Clothes began to fly off one by one from the bed....
That night, waves turned red....
(Well, that’s all for now, brothers understand, although never forbidden here, caution is advisable, so, let’s omit about five... thousand characters....)
The next day, when mother Mi Jiangxue brought Caiyi a bowl of nourishing Jade Lotus Ginseng Soup and gave many cautions, Caiyi was completely shy and even dared not go outside anymore.
Mother Mi Jiangxue’s keen gaze left Ye Zhen dumbfounded, and the entire Ye Mansion, under her influence, was even more jubilant.
Old Father Ye Tiancheng was so pleased that he directly started a porridge stand at the city gate, serving meat porridge no less.
Of course, these days, Ye Zhen was also very happy.
Though Caiyi was shy and no longer let Ye Zhen enter through the door.
But there were still windows, weren’t there? As for the shyness, Ye Zhen easily brushed it off with some Jianghu tales, and once again, Caiyi’s fragrant body was in Ye Zhen’s hands.
Before long, Ye Zhen and Caiyi had already stayed at Ye Mansion for half a month.
The final strand of luck power Ye Zhen and Caiyi possessed had been completely exhausted about eight or nine days earlier, and Ye Mansion didn’t gain much from this luck power.
However, this little amount of luck power brought continuous surprises to Ye Mansion.
Firstly, Old Father Ye Tiancheng, who was stuck at True Essence Fifth Realm Peak in his cultivation, incredibly and unexpectedly broke through to the Spirit Summoning Realm during cultivation. Originally, Ye Tiancheng had almost no hope of advancing to the Spirit Summoning Realm in his lifetime.
But just like that, as if by a stroke of fate, he unexpectedly made the breakthrough, as though that one-in-a-million chance had just happened to come his way.
On the business side, Ye Mansion also encountered consecutive joys.
An iron mine unexpectedly revealed a vein of Low Grade Spirit Crystals, estimated to hold hundreds of thousands of pieces—not much, but a tremendous fortune for the Ye Family.
Ye Tiancheng’s decision was very wise; he didn’t mine it himself but offered it directly to the Qiyun Sect to mine, allowing the Ye Family to share in the profits.
Considering Ye Zhen’s influence, the number of Low Grade Spirit Crystals mined that the Ye Family could claim was fifty percent.
However, the greatest joy wasn’t these.
In the afternoon, while Ye Zhen was discussing with Old Father Ye Tiancheng about returning to the sect, Ye Mansion’s old butler burst into the tea room like a madman.
"My lord, great joy, enormous joy!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

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