Chapter 139: Thirty Years East of the River, Thirty Years West
Outside the room, Madam Yao heard the argument between her eldest son and daughter inside and hesitated whether to go in and mediate, but was directly pulled to the kitchen by Old Madam Hua.
“Eldest daughter-in-law, since you and Eldest Son are both unwilling to discipline Jiu Niang, then let Da Lang do it. In the past two years, Jiu Niang has been away from home more and more. If you want to let her continue like this, then keep indulging Jiu Niang.”
Fourth Aunt Hua also chimed in, “Yes, Eldest Sister-in-law, Jiu Niang is becoming more and more distant from the family. She doesn’t even inform the family when she’s doing things outside. How can this be considered a family?”
Due to Hua Da Lang’s investigation, the Hua family all knew that Hua Changxi had opened eleven apothecary shops in the Capital City and owned a fire spirit mine in the Three Forked Medicine Valley.
The entire Hua family reacted strongly to this.
Madam Yao listened to Old Madam Hua and Fourth Aunt Hua, feeling both helpless and powerless.
Her daughter didn’t trust her family, and even guarded against them, which was something she hadn’t expected. Before, she had only thought Jiu Niang was a bit stubborn, but in the past two years, she increasingly realized she didn’t seem to understand her daughter at all.
It was one thing to open apothecary shops, but to quietly partner with outsiders to take over that fire spirit mine in the Three Forked Medicine Valley was completely beyond her imagination.
After all, the Three Forked Medicine Valley was Imperial Court territory. With the fire spirit mine so close, how could Jiu Niang dare to claim it as her own? Her daughter’s revealed fearlessness towards the Imperial Court made her heart pound with alarm.
Madam Yao also knew that her daughter needed to be disciplined, otherwise, she truly feared that one day she would do something earth-shattering and unmanageable.
Fourth Aunt Hua was genuinely grateful to Hua Jiu Niang. She knew the family was eyeing the assets Jiu Niang had earned, so she couldn’t say much, only remarking, “Eldest Sister-in-law, Da Lang is sensible. It’s good for the siblings to have a good talk.”
As a married-out daughter, Hua Sangu couldn’t interfere in her maiden family’s affairs, so she remained silent.
However, she truly admired her niece, Jiu Niang, for silently earning such a fortune for herself, making her more capable than most men.
In the main hall of the Hua family, Hua Mingzhe was chatting and laughing with Old Master Hua and the three brothers Hua Minghe, sometimes initiating new topics when conversations lulled, ensuring a harmonious and cheerful atmosphere in the room.
Hua Hongchen and Hua Hongtao sat silently by, feeling a pang of discomfort as they watched their father subtly flatter Old Master Hua and the others.
Because their great-grandfather was a Great Clan Elder of the Hua clan, their family had always been sought after and fawned over by clan members. However, in the past year or two, everything had changed.
With the appearance of cultivators, and since their family, except for their sister Hua Wanyue, had no spiritual roots, their status within the clan had plummeted.
In the past, even Grandpa Bin’s family had to send messages in advance to see their grandfather and father, and it depended on whether their grandfather and father had the time and mood to see them.
But now, because Grandpa Bin’s entire family were cultivators, their family’s status in the clan had instantly risen by a large margin.
The news that their entire family were cultivators, once it broke, not only shocked them but also other members of the Hua clan, who found it hard to believe.
But the fact was, Grandpa Bin’s family were indeed all cultivators. Although more than half of them were body cultivators, body cultivation was still a form of cultivation.
Cultivators with spiritual meridians were a minority. Body cultivation provided a path for those without spiritual roots, and becoming a body cultivator was something many people dreamed of.
Grandpa Bin was also directly appointed as the twelfth Clan Elder of the Hua clan by the Clan Leader for contributing a body refining cultivation method to the clan.
Hua Silang and others who cultivated in the Earl’s Mansion also benefited, and now the Earl’s Heir would even bring them along when visiting friends, clearly grooming them as trusted confidantes.
Now, it was their family that had to beg Grandpa Bin’s family.
Their great-grandfather still had some influence with the Earl, and he learned from the Earl that the body refining cultivation method Grandpa Bin had offered the clan was not the best; they still possessed better ones.
Their father was flattering Grandpa Bin’s family in order to obtain better body refining cultivation methods for them, so they could stand out in the clan.
Looking at Old Master Hua, who was beaming with flattery towards Grandpa Bin’s family and had long forgotten the unpleasantness with Hua Jiu Niang, Hua Hongchen and Hua Hongtao exchanged glances, their eyes filled with self-reproach and guilt.
Their father was sacrificing his dignity for them; would he be able to achieve his goal?
In Hua Changxi’s room, facing Hua Da Lang’s accusation that she didn’t care about her family, she initially began to reflect on herself, thinking she had gone too far. However, she quickly regained her clarity.
“Eldest Brother, everyone’s life must be their own responsibility. Don’t push the life you should bear onto me.”
“You can only eat as much as you can afford.”
“The prosperity of the Hua family depends on every member of the Hua family, not just me. I dare say I have contributed enough to the family.”
“I dare say everyone in the family has benefited because of me. Don’t just target me. If you have the ability, go and urge the other brothers and sisters in the family to strive for progress.”
“As for the dangers you mentioned encountering in a turbulent situation, there’s nothing that can be done. Everything I have now wasn’t obtained out of thin air; I also risked my life to get it.”
Hua Da Lang looked at Hua Changxi in disbelief, “Father and Mother dote on you so much, yet they’ve indulged you to be so selfish and only think of yourself. You’re simply…”
Before Hua Da Lang could finish his angry words, with a ‘creak,’ the door was forcefully pushed open by Hua San Lang and Hua Liu Lang.
“It’s time to eat.”
“Eldest Brother, Uncle and the others are still in the main hall. Grandfather wants you to go and entertain guests.” Hua San Lang forcibly pulled Hua Da Lang out of the room and gave Hua Liu Lang a look.
After the two left, Hua Liu Lang walked over to Hua Changxi and sat down, “Eldest Brother is like this, always lecturing. I’m also very annoyed by him.”
As he spoke, he looked at Hua Changxi. Seeing that she didn’t speak, Hua Liu Lang added, “Eldest Brother’s mouth is a bit annoying, but he’s a good person. He genuinely wants what’s best for our family.”
Hua Changxi looked at him, “If Eldest Brother genuinely wants what’s best for the family, then let him do it. I’m not stopping him. But he shouldn’t demand that I do the same as him.”
Hua Liu Lang listened and asked weakly, “Jiu Niang, don’t you want our family to do well?”
Hua Changxi: “Haven’t I done well for this family? Don’t you see what I’ve done for the family? Do I have to give up everything for it to be considered doing well for the family?”
She paused.
“Eldest Brother plans for the family because he will inherit it in the future. But what about me? I’m not within this inheritance scope, yet I’m asked to go all out for this family. On what grounds?”
Hua Liu Lang’s hair stood on end, and he scratched his head, unsure how to respond, “. But you can’t fall out with the family, can you?”
Hua Changxi: “I don’t want to fall out. I won’t interfere with what the family members do, and they shouldn’t interfere with what I do. I want us to get along peacefully. It’s Grandfather and Eldest Brother who don’t want that; they insist that I act according to their wishes.”
As she spoke, her face showed fatigue.
“Sixth Brother, every time I come home, I’m exhausted. It’s clearly the family members who are greedy, yet they act as if I’ve done something wrong. If this continues, I really don’t want to come back.”
Hua Liu Lang became anxious, “Don’t say that. If you don’t come back, Father and Mother will be sad.”
Hua Changxi’s face showed bitterness, “The storage bag I gave Father, Father gave to Eldest Brother. I gave him the storage bag to provide him with more security because I was worried about his safety. This was my affection and concern for him, yet he handed over my affection to someone else.”
Hua Liu Lang said dryly, “Eldest Brother is in the Demon Suppressing Army, and his work is quite dangerous, so Father gave the storage bag to Eldest Brother.”
Hua Changxi knew her family would try to persuade her like this and didn’t want to speak anymore.
Hua Liu Lang was at a loss. He didn’t know how to persuade her, fearing that one wrong word might further strain his sister’s relationship with the family. He could only awkwardly change the subject.
“By the way, Grandfather is now the twelfth Elder of the Hua clan. The clan values our family very highly now.”
Hua Changxi was indeed distracted and asked in surprise, “How did Grandfather become a Clan Elder?”
Hua Liu Lang’s expression stiffened, and he felt like slapping himself. How could he have brought up such a topic?
Hua Changxi looked at his reaction and pondered for a moment, “Did Grandfather give the body refining technique to the clan?”
Hua Liu Lang’s face trembled, “You knew?”
Hua Changxi’s expression was calm, “Given our family’s situation, what could be exchanged for the position of a Clan Elder? Is it that hard to guess?”
Hua Liu Lang glanced at Hua Changxi’s face, “Jiu Niang, you’re not angry, are you?”
Hua Changxi didn’t speak. She didn’t mind the Qi Huang Body Refining Technique being spread. In her understanding, the things in Qihuang Hall were meant to be shared with everyone.
What bothered her was that her family used the resources she brought back, yet they continued to demand more, which truly made her feel somewhat annoyed.
Just then, Fourth Aunt Hua’s voice rang out from the courtyard.
“Wu Niang, Third Master, why have you come?”
“Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I’ve come with Wu Niang and the children to celebrate the festival with everyone.”
Hua Changxi and Hua Liu Lang looked into the courtyard and saw Hua Wuniang holding a child, standing beside Third Master He. Behind them were several maids, each holding generous gifts.
“This is the first time Third Master He has visited our home, isn’t it? Truly a rare guest.”
