"Beautiful yet pitiable women can change a man's fate with but a single sentence—under such circumstances, not just a seventeen-year-old boy but even older men can't help but become arrogant, vain, and with their heads turned, hastily agree," Mrs. Jiutiao said, "Shensheng did well."

There had been a ceremony earlier, and she hadn't asked Jiutiao Shensheng about the specifics of his methods.

Jiutiao Meijie began to laugh.

"What's wrong?" Mrs. Jiutiao asked with a smile, affectionately grabbing her daughter's hand.

"Jiutiao Shensheng has been disliked by Dubian this time. Perhaps when Dubian is looking after the Jiutiao Family in the future, he may settle scores with him."

"Dislike?" Mrs. Jiutiao didn't comment on the other information her daughter's words conveyed.

"Yes." Jiutiao Meijie nodded elegantly, "Dubian came back fuming, believing he had been looked down upon by Jiutiao Shensheng."

"He didn't plead?"

"No." Jiutiao Meijie pulled her hand away and raised her teacup to take a sip, "Told me to pretend I didn't know. He said if he agreed once, there would be a next time and he didn't want to trouble himself."

"So, my plan has failed?" Mrs. Jiutiao said with a smile.

"You should have taken the opportunity to scold him for being late and not bringing a gift earlier," Jiutiao Meijie said.

Mrs. Jiutiao's plan:

If Dubian Che were to beg for forgiveness, she would sternly scold him first, causing him to lose face. She would tell him that as a son-in-law of the Jiutiao Family, many would try to take advantage of him. He needed to be clear about what he should and shouldn't do and, in the end, she would still agree to his request.

"The first step in training my son-in-law has failed!" She sighed, "He's much smarter than we thought. We need to be careful in the future."

"He's smart, but we don't need to be careful," Jiutiao Meijie said.

"Don't need to? When the Jiutiao Family has become the Dubian Family, I'd like to see if you still have the face to meet me."

"I think he doesn't want to mingle with people like Jiutiao Shensheng and couldn't be bothered to manage affairs. Didn't you see how he acted just now? When you questioned him, he was still there leisurely saying, 'Such a wonderful season,' something about 'irises, lotus flowers.'"

"Someone without worries?" said Mrs. Jiutiao.

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Hmm?"

"He might have seen through this arrangement, or he might not have, but either way, he pretends to be carefree and uninterested in managing affairs for the future."

"This speculation could very well be true," Mrs. Jiutiao said. "A country boy who worked and studied hard before meeting you, who has done all sorts of difficult and tiring work and is extremely talented himself—would such a person be carefree and want nothing?"

"But regardless, I don't think there's anything to worry about. If he wants power, give it to him. As long as he changes his surname to Jiutiao, it will be mine and his children who will inherit the Jiutiao Family in the future. Nothing else matters."

Mrs. Jiutiao looked at her daughter.

"When I die, do as you please. By then, even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to control you."

"You look so young, Mother. You might live to be one hundred and twenty or thirty, outliving me."

"One hundred and twenty or thirty? How hideous would I be? Better to die young and beautiful than that."

"By your logic, we should be dying right now."

The two tacitly changed the subject, no longer discussing the plan.

By the time, Dubian Che should finish sending off the guests from the partitioning of the family and be on his way back.

"You have time, but I might not have much left. Maybe in a couple of years, I'll have wrinkles," Mrs. Jiutiao said.

"You're already ** years old. You should already have wrinkles even with good maintenance," Jiutiao Meijie unceremoniously said.

Mrs. Jiutiao couldn't get angry at her own daughter. The very existence of one's children was a constant reminder to the parents of their aging.

"Thanks to the skincare products Mr. Dubian sent, by the way, Mrs. Kiyono also asked for them. You should have Mr. Dubian bring another bottle soon."

"You told Mrs. Kiyono about Dubian's matters?" Jiutiao Meijie said with some dissatisfaction.

Not even Kiyono Lin was aware of Dubian Che's affairs, which she regarded as her own secret.

If she could go back in time, she would have told her younger self not to mention it even to her mother.

Two people knowing was already enough.

"Don't worry, my dear daughter. I only told her that a skincare product with a rare ingredient has been developed," Mrs. Jiutiao said nonchalantly, "Remember to ask him for it, otherwise, in a few years, Mrs. Kiyono and I will walk together, and people might think we're mother and daughter."

"Mm," Jiutiao Meijie agreed.

After a while, Dubian Che returned, his Japanese-style robe slightly dampened with rain.

"You've worked hard, Mr. Dubian," Mrs. Jiutiao said with a smile.

The guests having left, and despite still being dressed in her opulent Japanese-style clothing, her demeanor had become much friendlier.

"It wasn't hard. Being allowed to participate in the ceremony and send off the guests is your recognition of me. As for agreeing to let me be with Meiji, I couldn't be happier," Dubian Che said as he kneeled beside Jiutiao Meijie and took her left hand.

Jiutiao Meijie watched him with a smirking smile.

"You mentioned earlier about going with Meiji to Ueno to see the lotuses. When will you be free?" Mrs. Jiutiao asked.

"When are you free?" Dubian Che asked.

"I'm idle every day. I'm always free."

"How about tomorrow then? Although it's a Sunday, with the rainy weather, there shouldn't be too many people."

"Aren't you going to ask when I'm free?" Jiutiao Meijie lifted her tea cup and spoke leisurely.

"I won't ask," Dubian Che laughed, "I'll force you to go with me."

Jiutiao Meijie gave him a look.

Mrs. Jiutiao watched her daughter drinking tea.

Her hand was still in Dubian Che's, although she had pulled it back to drink her tea when she had been holding his earlier.

Even though it was the right hand she had held, as a mother, she still felt a sense of loss.

Dubian Che would marry into the family, but Meijie was someone she had raised with great effort and much heartache; seeing this scene, she still felt like her daughter was becoming someone else's.

"You both must be tired today, you should rest early," she said.

"Yes."

"Mother, you should rest early too."

The two of them walked away shoulder to shoulder, leaving Mrs. Jiutiao alone in the Japanese-style room, savoring the joy and troubles that come with motherhood.

Back in the living room, they went straight to the bedroom and collapsed together on the bed.

They kissed without a care for a while.

"Do you know what mother just said?" Meijie asked, her lips barely separating.

"She chided us for being frivolous on this day of remembrance?"

They were so close that a slight movement of the lips would have brought them together.

A romantic and warm atmosphere.

"The affair with Jiutiao Shensheng, it was actually arranged by mother, and I knew about it," she disclosed the whole story and its purpose.

"You upper-class folks always assume others have ulterior motives just like yourselves!" Dubian Che pinched Jiutiao Meijie's butt through the fabric of her kimono.

Jiutiao Meijie slapped him, and he obediently moved his hand back to her waist.

"You folks?" she said, "I've told you before, you and I, we're us, everyone else is someone else."

"Even your mother?"

"Even your mother. Can you do that?"

"I love you too deeply," Dubian Che muttered gloomily, "At this rate, I'll become as extreme as you."

"If I didn't love you to extremes, how could I allow you to have two mistresses?"

Dubian Che didn't speak, instead holding her more tightly in his arms.

"Did you have any suspicions about this matter?" Meijie reached into his hair with her hand.

"I guessed a little, but no matter what, I wouldn't have agreed. I didn't want to get involved in these things. I'm already content with this life, I have no more desires."

They stopped talking, cuddling together amidst the sound of rain.

The movement of Jiutiao Meijie combing through Dubian Che's hair paused at one moment.

"Are you thinking about Kiyono Lin?"

"No."

"No?" Jiutiao Meijie let out a cold laugh, her hand traveled over Dubian Che's shoulder, back, then around to the front, and pinched the flesh of his thigh.

"Naughty boy, lying to me, I have to punish you," she said, even as her mouth took hold of Dubian Che's neck.

"Ow, ow, ow!"

"Do you know what punishment is? Did you think this was flirting?"

Dubian Che suddenly recalled something, "This reminds me of how a mom disciplines her son."

"Let's see if you dare to do it again."

"Is this you getting used to 'mother mode' ahead of time?"

"So? Doesn't it seem right? Should I call over mother to scold you?" Jiutiao Meijie released her hold, leaving faint bite marks where her mouth had been.

"That's it! Sister is fine, I like Meijie the best!"

ps: Thanks to [huaji__XX] the Alliance Hierarch for becoming the 55th Alliance Hierarch of this book;

Thank you to [憨色hanser] the Alliance Hierarch for becoming the 56th Alliance Hierarch of the book.

Regarding the extra updates, I might have to go back on my word.

This book has reached 1.2 million words, not a lot, but for an everyday novel, it's nearing the end. Simply keeping up with regular updates is already a challenge, not to mention the quality of what is written, I'm not even satisfied, let alone adding around 8000 words in two chapters a day.

These past few days, I've tried to sit in front of the computer and start writing as soon as I get up, but in the end, I still end up writing only about 4000 words.

To the Alliance Hierarchs who rewarded me, I apologize. Until this book is finished, there will probably be no extra updates, but, barring normal leave or unforeseen circumstances, there will absolutely be no breaks in the updates.

I'm truly sorry.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.