Chapter 34: Marriage Proposal, Zhuang Family

Pei Ziqing suddenly heard these words, and his heart skipped a beat.

Without changing his expression, he explained, “Sister, I had a nightmare last night.”

Nan Yuan thought to herself: No need to say it; he must have dreamt of something strange.

“I dreamt that I was walking in a snowy field, shivering from the cold. Later, a fairy descended from the sky and gave me a blanket. But even with the blanket, I was still cold, lying in the snow. So, I desperately grabbed the blanket and tried to burrow into it… Eventually, I woke up sweating.”

At this point, Pei Ziqing scratched his head with some regret. “Sister probably can’t guess why I had such a dream. It’s because last night, I forgot to close the window before going to bed. The cold wind came in through the window gap and blew directly onto my head. When I had that dream, I was sweating so much that I had to change into dry clothes in the side room.”

Although he and his sister now slept in the main room, she left the side room for him. Normally, he would bathe and change in his own side room. Also, when his sister bathed, he would retreat to the side room.

“Right,” Nan Yuan glanced at him.

Pei Ziqing looked at her somewhat aggrievedly and said, “Sister, I endured the cold wind all night. If you don’t pity me, that’s fine, but why say I deserve it? However, it was my fault to disturb you. I’ve been thinking about it all morning and decided to move to the side room.”

Nan Yuan hesitated. “It doesn’t bother me much. If it’s just because of this, it’s not necessary.”

“Sister, it’s not just because of this. Originally, I lived in the side room to take care of you, but you never get up at night. Instead, I often cause trouble for you.”

This time, without waiting for Nan Yuan to say anything, Xiaotang in her arms began to squeak and mock him, “Liar! Clearly, you’re just afraid and don’t dare to stay alone.”

Pei Ziqing:…

He didn’t; it was his sister who misunderstood him in the first place. He only agreed because he yearned for his sister’s tenderness.

“Sister, I’m not a child anymore.”

Nan Yuan understood when she heard this.

She thought this little guy hadn’t entered his rebellious phase, but it seemed it had arrived.

Well, indeed, he wasn’t a child anymore, but she had always treated him as the little guy from three years ago due to his lack of height.

Nan Yuan nodded, and immediately, Pei Ziqing carried his bedding out.

Very straightforward and decisive.

Nan Yuan sighed in her heart; a child grows up and becomes independent.

A few days later, Nan Yuan discovered an even more heart-wrenching matter.

She poked Xiaotang’s round belly with an expressionless face. “Is Ah Qing avoiding me recently?”

“Meh? Now that you mention it, it does seem like that. He used to show up in front of you every day, but he’s been too busy lately, not coming by and not helping me groom my fur either. Yuanyuan, do you think he has someone else outside?”

Nan Yuan:…

“Xiaotang, don’t speak without understanding.”

Xiaotang stuck out its tongue and licked its own paw, humming. If he’s been soaking in the snow-mist mountains and not coming back, it means he has someone else outside.

Nan Yuan looked into the distance.

Ah, the kid has grown up and has his own little secrets now.

Isn’t this something all old mothers go through?

As a good elder, she would give the little guy enough personal space.

Pei Ziqing was indeed intentionally avoiding Nan Yuan. He urgently needed to do something to distract himself.

Even Yun Wu couldn’t find him. He hid in his own world, struggling.

After hunting down a fierce beast, Pei Ziqing lay on the ground, panting.

He gazed at the hazy sky above the snow-mist forest, lost in thought.

The sweaty battle made him finally make a decision.

His sister could only be his sister and nothing else.

She was the purest existence in his heart, and he wouldn’t allow anyone to defile her.

Even if… himself.

Pei Ziqing carefully cleaned the bloodstains from his body, changed into clean clothes, and then used the prepared incense to fumigate himself, making sure the smell of blood on his body was not too strong.

His sister was cleanliness-conscious, and he had to ensure that he was spotlessly clean, although her tolerance for the smell of blood seemed higher than for other scents.

After sorting out his emotions, Pei Ziqing returned to the mansion.

Upon returning, he noticed something unusual.

There were visitors in the mansion!

Judging by their grandeur, they seemed to be quite influential.

Their sedan was pulled by tall and beautiful spotted reindeer, and their servants were dressed in luxurious brocades that only the wealthy in Snow City could afford…

The people guarding the main hall where they were conducting business didn’t allow anyone to approach.

A passing old servant of the mansion greeted Pei Ziqing, “Young Master, be at ease.”

“Who has come?” Pei Ziqing asked, frowning.

The old servant whispered, “It’s the people from the Qinghe Zhuang family.”

“The Qinghe Zhuang family?” Pei Ziqing repeated it in a low voice.

“Why would the Qinghe Zhuang family come to our Snow City?”

These two places were clearly worlds apart.

“Well…”

The servant hesitated, glancing behind him, and spoke in a low voice, “When the old lord was still alive, he coincidentally saved the life of the Zhuang family’s master. In gratitude, Zhuang’s family master arranged a marriage with the youngest son under the condition that he would marry into the lord’s mansion…”

Not to mention that Qinghe City was a renowned wealthy city on the Cangmiao Continent, let alone the Zhuang family.

They were one of the top spiritual cultivation families.

For hundreds of years, the Zhuang family produced many powerful spiritual cultivators, earning high prestige throughout the entire Cangmiao Continent.

In contrast, Snow City had very few spiritual cultivators. Even the old lord was only an intermediate martial artist, skilled in mountain-moving and stone-splitting techniques, but ultimately inferior to spiritual cultivators.

It was only in the remote and backward Snow City that he could become the city lord. In any other place, his cultivation would not be enough.

When the old lord dreamed of having a child with spiritual roots, he went to great lengths to marry an intermediate spiritual disciple.

However, the daughter born to them still had no spiritual roots and could only become a martial cultivator.

The old lord had considered trying with other women, but he had a deep affection for his wife, and in the end, he gave up on that approach.

So, when Zhuang’s family master proposed this marriage, even though there was a bit of a sense of repaying a favor, the old lord readily agreed.

He couldn’t have a child with spiritual roots, but perhaps the union of his daughter with the descendants of the Zhuang family could produce a child with spiritual roots.

The old lord held onto this hope until his death.

Originally, Pei Ziqing thought the Zhuang family had long forgotten the initial promise. Unexpectedly, a few years after the old lord’s death, the young master of the Zhuang family took the initiative to visit.

After hearing the words of the old servant, Pei Ziqing stood there in a daze, his eyes vacant.

Marriage proposal?

His sister… she actually agree to marry someone else?

How could this be? How could she marry someone else…

The young man clenched his fists, his eyes reddening and his whole body trembling.

His appearance was somewhat frightening.

The old servant was quite scared, and he quickly excused himself.

After Pei Ziqing snapped out of it, he covered his chest and left the place in a daze.

He couldn’t control his emotions at the moment, and he didn’t want his sister to see him like this.

“Why is Young Master Pei hiding here alone in sorrow?”

Pei Ziqing suddenly turned around, and, seeing the mysteriously appearing man behind him, his expression darkened. “Why are you here?”

Yun Wu chuckled. “Young Master Pei, it seems the Lord has never restricted my movements. I go wherever I please.”

Pei Ziqing looked at him coldly, without saying a word.

“The people from the Qinghe Zhuang family—did Young Master see them?” Yun Wu grinned.

“It’s not an exaggeration to say that the Zhuang family is worth ten cities. I just glimpsed their young master a moment ago, truly a remarkable talent, a dragon and phoenix among men.”