Song Ming Lang, fearing Weisheng Yan would refuse again, quickly said: "The immortal descending to the mortal world is not just a matter for your Weisheng family, but for all of Qingyang County and even Da Shuo. Although the immortal does not wish for many people to know of her existence right now, we cannot be impolite regarding the necessary preparations." He added fuel to the fire: "Do you want the immortal to be displeased and leave because of her accommodation?"
This sentence struck a chord with Weisheng Yan. He feared more than anyone that the ancestor might suddenly leave. Few people had seen the ancestor yet, and if the ancestor were to suddenly depart at this time, who would show them consideration or believe them? Say they were descendants of an immortal to the outside world? No one would believe it, and it would accelerate the demise of the Weisheng Family, just as Song Ming Lang had said earlier, it would be defying Imperial Power. If even one person present today were to speak of this matter and attract the attention of those with ulterior motives, it would be a fatal disaster for the Weisheng Family. Even if these people could prove it for them, how many would believe it? The lowly are not heard. The Weisheng Family had deeply experienced this over the years.
Only with the ancestor around would the Weisheng Family not fear any gossip. "Do not mention this matter again." Although he felt Song Ming Lang had a point, he did not want to owe him a favor.
Song Ming Lang was not in a hurry; he believed Weisheng Yan would come to him. Seeing that he was about to go inside, Song Ming Lang stopped him again, lowering his voice: "County Magistrate, what do you think of my son, Wenyuan?"
Weisheng Yan seemed a little puzzled but still praised him earnestly: "A fine figure, skilled in both literary and martial arts."
Song Ming Lang smiled: "What do you think of my son Wenyuan and your eldest daughter?"
Weisheng Yan was shocked and immediately shook off his hand: "What nonsense are you talking about! My Rúhóng is already engaged!"
"I know this, Wu Rui of the Wu Family in Huaining County. How do you compare my son to that Wu Rui?"
Weisheng Yan looked at him as if he were crazy and snorted: "Unreasonable!"
Watching his retreating back, Song Ming Lang gritted his teeth and said: "If the eldest daughter insists on Wu Rui, our Wenyuan can be the secondary wife!"
Weisheng Yan staggered. A hint of anger appeared on his usually calm face. He turned to the doorkeeper beside him: "Close the door!"
Song Ming Lang chuckled, completely unfazed, as he watched the large door shut.
The butler beside him couldn't help but say: "Master, if the young master finds out, I'm afraid..."
Song Ming Lang snorted: "It is a bit shameful to be a secondary wife to a woman, but it depends on who the other party is. Moreover, the engagement between the Weisheng Family and the Wu Family may not necessarily happen.
*
Weisheng Yuè stood under a tree. The spiritual sense of the Foundation Establishment stage was not extensive, but it could encompass the entire Weisheng Family. She saw the simplicity and plight of the family.
She let out a soft sigh. Fortunately, the Weisheng Family was still here. Before breaking through realms, she was very worried that after hundreds of years, the Weisheng Family would no longer exist.
She looked up at the sunlight in the sky and listened to the cicadas chirping not far away. This was a completely different environment from the Cultivation World.
The master's words echoed in her ears.
"Yi Nian, a great change has occurred. Spiritual energy in the Cultivation World has been severed, and later generations can no longer cultivate. If we are to break the impasse, only by undergoing tribulation and ascending, opening a passage to the Upper Realm, is there any hope. You have reached complete tribulation, and you are most likely to ascend. However, you have obsessions in your heart and are burdened by karma. If these are not resolved, ascension in this life is hopeless."
"Go back, to where you came from."
She raised her hand and caught a falling leaf.
The Cultivation World and the mortal world existed independently. Cultivators would never come to the mortal world. This was because to do so, one must possess the tribulation-stage cultivation to forcefully break through the barrier, and they would also be subject to the restrictions of the Natural Order/Heavenly Law. There were mortals in the Cultivation World, and it was not difficult for cultivators to have offspring. The mortal world was insignificant in the Cultivation World. No tribulation-stage cultivator would act foolishly and come to the mortal world, a place of no benefit and not even that large.
It was by accident that the Master came to the mortal world back then, discovered her, who had spiritual roots, and took her back. In essence, the Master was the first to come to the mortal world from the Cultivation World. Without the Master, she would not be where she is today.
She knew her obsession was her family, the Weisheng Family. As for karma, she did not know, and even the Master could not discern it.
"Ancestor, this is Bulut Kek, please try it." Weisheng Rúhóng held a plate of pastries, her head bowed, her posture respectful.
Weisheng Yuè said earnestly: "No need to be so formal. You are the descendants of my elder brother, and thus, you are also my descendants."
Her gaze fell on the Bulut Kek, which was essentially white rice cake, made from ground rice and steamed with a little sugar. It was what she loved to eat the most as a child, and what her mother often used to coax her. "Do you still eat these now?" Weisheng Yuè picked one up, a little curious. Six hundred years of drastic changes, she thought the mortal world would no longer eat these, but rather better things. Back then, there wasn't much to eat, so her mother came up with a way to make this. "The family records state that you, Ancestor, like to eat this, so the recipe has been passed down to this day." Weisheng Rúhóng had only learned this yesterday. In the past, she had been curious why the offerings for the ancestors in the ancestral hall always included this unremarkable pastry. The answer she had sought for years, she had received yesterday and today she saw the person herself.
Weisheng Yuè did not expect the answer to be this way. She slowly brought the Bulut Kek to her lips. "My mother personally wrote down this recipe back then, Ancestor. Do you think the taste is still the same?" Weisheng Rúhóng's tone carried a hint of expectation. Being able to make the Ancestor feel a greater sense of belonging to the family was precisely what the family needed most right now. As the eldest daughter of the main branch of the Weisheng Family, no one knew better than her the current decline of the Weisheng Family and the stains that had once fallen upon it. And the only one who could change all this was the Ancestor.Anyone else might think that their own ancestor would definitely help her own family. But Weisheng Rúhóng did not think so. Having left home at a young age and not returned for over six hundred years, did the Ancestor really have a sense of belonging to the Weisheng Family? Or did she see them as just an ordinary, unfamiliar family?
Weisheng Yuè nodded gently: "It's passable." In truth, her memory of the taste of Bulut Kek had long since faded. She only remembered it as the most delicious thing she had eaten in her youth. Perhaps it was because her mother had made it herself. The current taste faintly brought back some memories.
But the taste seemed different now. Weisheng Rúhóng lowered her eyes, hiding her disappointment. After all, hundreds of years had passed, and the person making it was different. It was normal that the Ancestor was not satisfied.
Weisheng Yan arrived not long after, bowing: "Ancestor, the room has been prepared." He paused, then finally said: "If you feel the room is not suitable, I can..."
"Exchange it for that villa of the Song Family?" Weisheng Yuè interrupted him.