Chapter 170: Senior Brother, How Many Bowls of Rice Does the Wife Eat?
The sky was filled with dense clouds, and the silver moon hung in the branches.
Ye Anping, clad in white, sat before the dressing table in his bedroom, staring blankly at his handsome face in the bronze mirror.
His deep purple eyes sparkled with a captivating glow.
His skin was smooth and fair, exuding a stern, chiseled aura.
Ye Anping couldn’t help but sigh, “The person in this mirror is getting handsomer.”
Xiao Die, who was combing his hair behind him, heard this and couldn’t help but sigh.
“Ai— Young Master, it’s been over a year since I’ve heard your narcissistic pronouncements. I almost miss them,” she said.
Ye Anping was amused and bewildered. He shook his head and retorted, “Just tell me, am I good-looking or not?”
“You are good-looking, Young Master has always been good-looking, just a bit shameless,” Xiao Die pouted. But then she also turned her head to look at the face in the bronze mirror.
Her Young Master had been away for a year. His height and physique hadn’t changed much, and his face was still incredibly handsome. However, there were faint traces of hardship around his brows and eyes.
She couldn’t pinpoint the exact difference, but she could feel it.
“Young Master, what’s on your mind? Why don’t you tell Xiao Die? Xiao Die can also offer some advice! After all, Xiao Die has lived for over thirty years and has definitely experienced and seen more than the Young Master.”
Ye Anping hesitated for a moment. Thinking that Xiao Die was not an outsider and, speaking honestly, he was probably still a novice when it came to matters of love. So, he decided to confide in her.
“Xiao Die, tell me, if I were to marry two or even more wives, would that be bad?”
“Hmm?” Xiao Die tilted her head, pondered for a moment, and asked, “Oh, is the Young Master’s dilemma that there are many good girls around, and you don’t want to give up any of them?”
It wasn’t a dilemma… Ye Anping pouted and said, “Let’s just say it is.”
“Well… Throughout history, it hasn’t been wrong for men to have three wives and four concubines. But the problem is that many men who lack the ability to support three wives and four concubines end up taking them.”
“Ability?”
Xiao Die nodded. Thinking for a moment, she raised her index finger and explained, “Simply put, you can only marry as many wives as you have bowls of rice for.”
“…”
“Before spiritual energy appeared in the world, men were superior to women, and food was held in the hands of men. For example, if a man had enough food to feed three mouths, he would marry three wives. This way, the three women, by marrying into this man’s household, would not go hungry.”
“Mmm… continue.”
“But, most men are not self-aware. They clearly only have three bowls of rice, yet they marry five wives with huge appetites. In the end, this leads to the disintegration of the family, the ruin of the household, and the starvation of the entire family. Men who cannot see themselves clearly are hypocrites and faithless scoundrels.”
Hearing this, Ye Anping lowered his eyes and followed Xiao Die’s train of thought, pondering it.
He had to admit, what she said had some truth to it.
— Do as much as you are capable of.
— Marry as many wives as you are capable of.
These two things were the same principle.
But the key issue was…
Xiao Die smiled and added, “The key is, you need to clearly see how many bowls of rice you have in your hands? And how many bowls of rice each woman you intend to marry eats per meal? This is actually very difficult, and it’s up to the Young Master to figure it out.”
“Mmm—”
Ye Anping rested his chin on his hand and pondered for a while. He evaluated himself and found it truly difficult to say how many bowls of rice he actually had.
The only thing he could be sure of now was that he had enough rice for himself and “Xiyue.”
“Xiyue,” like him, had dual spiritual roots and was an ordinary person with no special attributes—a one-bowl-of-rice level.
As for the others…
His junior sister had special spiritual roots, her aptitude was countless times better than his. If he hadn’t hitched a ride on Feng Yu Die’s destiny, he would have long been surpassed by her in cultivation—likely a ten-bowl-of-rice level.
Xiao Yunluo was even more terrifying. Heavenly spiritual root, daughter of the Loli Old Woman, Xuan Xing Sect Young Master—she should be a fifty-bowl-of-rice level.
Li Longling, single fire spiritual root, daughter of the Chi Long Mansion. Now she was the Mansion Lord, her future was limitless—likely a five-bowl-of-rice level.
…
These four were those he currently had feelings for.
If he wanted to marry all of them eventually, he would need to ensure he had sixty-six bowls of rice.
For a moment, Ye Anping’s face was filled with worry, and he suddenly felt immense pressure. But after thinking about it, no matter what, he had to earn at least “eleven bowls of rice” to ensure his junior sister and Xiyue could eat their fill.
“Hoo— I can’t afford it anymore.”
“Hmm?”
“My junior sister eats a bit much,” Ye Anping shrugged slightly and said, “I can’t feed her enough.”
Xiao Die frowned slightly upon hearing this and said, “Young Master, you used to bully Junior Sister Pei every day, and now you want to marry her? Would Junior Sister Pei agree?”
Ye Anping smiled slightly, raised his eyebrows, and said, “Of course, she would agree. I’m so handsome, why wouldn’t she agree?”
“Tsk… Wake up, Young Master. Junior Sister Pei suffered so much hardship when she was little, all because of you. It’s already her kindness that she’s not coming after you now that she’s grown up, hmph hmph~~”
Bang bang—
Two light knocks interrupted Xiao Die’s words.
Xiao Die looked towards the bedroom door and asked, “Who is it? Young Master Ye is preparing to rest.”
“Ah… Xiao Die, it’s me.”
?!
“Hmm?”
Xiao Die flinched and looked at Ye Anping in surprise, only to be met with Ye Anping’s smirk.
“Heh~~”
Ye Anping stood up with pride in his expression and opened the door himself, instead of Xiao Die.
Creak—
Pei Lianxue was now wearing a snow-white new nightgown, her hair tied up, and her cheeks and the skin around her collar looked dewy, as if she had just bathed.
She stood at the door holding her pillow. When the door opened, she immediately pursed her lips and smiled.
“Senior Brother, it’s time to sleep.”
Ye Anping paused and jokingly teased, “You’re back at the Hundred Lotus Sect, why don’t you sleep in your own room tonight?”
Hearing this, Pei Lianxue instantly became unhappy. After hesitating for a moment, she lowered her head, pouted, and turned to leave.
“Oh…”
Seeing this, Ye Anping stopped teasing her. If he angered his junior sister, she would likely beat him severely during their spar tomorrow morning. So, he grabbed her shoulder and said, “Alright, Junior Sister, I was just kidding.”
Pei Lianxue stopped in her tracks, looked at him, and suddenly frowned. She shook off Ye Anping’s hand from her shoulder.
“Hmph! I don’t want to anymore!”
“Ah? Really not anymore?”
“…”
Pei Lianxue walked about five or six steps outside, then made a semicircular turn and walked back.
“I still want to…”
Has this girl been corrupted by Xiao Yunluo? Why is she acting all tsundere?
Ye Anping was a little helpless, so he opened the door and let her in.
Xiao Die stood stunned in front of the dressing table, looking up and down at Pei Lianxue and Ye Anping. Although she had witnessed Junior Sister Pei’s childhood experiences with her own eyes…
When they stood together, she found them to be quite a match.
Suddenly, she felt that Ye Anping and Junior Sister Pei getting together wasn’t particularly strange.
How to put it?
One willing to hit, one willing to be beaten?
However, from her perspective, this was actually quite good.
She was Ye Anping’s maidservant. Whoever Ye Anping married in the future would be her mistress.
What if Ye Anping married a short-tempered wife who took all her anger out on her? She couldn’t handle that.
If Pei Lianxue became the mistress, she would have some say.
“Mmm…” Xiao Die paused and reminded, “Young Master, does the Sect Master know that Junior Sister Pei is coming to sleep over?”
“Yes, she knows.”
“Then this servant will say no more.” Xiao Die placed the comb in her hand on the dressing table, walked out of the room, turned back, and half-closed the door. With a smile, she said, “Young Master, Madam Pei, goodnight. This servant will come to help tidy up in the morning.”
?
Ye Anping looked at the strange smile on Xiao Die’s face and suddenly felt a sense of helplessness. Xiao Die likely thought Pei Lianxue was a girl who could be supported with just one bowl of rice.
“Ai— You should rest early too.”
“Yes, hehe—”
Creak—
However, upon hearing Xiao Die’s address of “Madam,” Pei Lianxue’s eyes lit up, and she looked quite shy.
“Madam…”
“Junior Sister, you sleep first. I still have some things to do.”
Pei Lianxue tilted her head, “Mmm, what is it? Can I help?”
“You can’t help. Go to sleep.”
“Oh…”
… …
